Book One: Natsu's adoption by Igneel to Hatching Happy
by Annie Matsukaze
Summary: Summary: Natsu has kidnapped at the age of six, about to turn seven in a month, in the year X773 and his magic had been increased to about forty or eighty triple X-Ranked Mages. Igneel left his childhood friend, Atlas in charge of Natsu before he left in X777. Romance is the third genres. Note: the title will be changed as this is a book of the old one. Welcome to Book One! -
1. Chapter 1

Annie: Hey, everyone. This is a rewriting version of 'Natsu,The Fire Dragon Prince' with the help of just2protect.

Just2protect: Hey, everyone. It's nice to be here and Annie thanks for having me here.

Annie: You're welcome. Now, let's start the story.

P.S,

Natsu's magical levels in the old one is the same in this rewriting version.

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February 15, X773

Natsu had his nose all but pressed to the ground, following after a rabbit's scent. His mouth was watering as he imagined cooking up the creature for a snack before dinner. Igneel likely wouldn't mind an extra helping of whatever the dragon was hunting if Natsu was too full from this rabbit to eat. Finally, the scent was much stronger than before and Natsu tensed in his crouched position, like he'd seen Igneel do when he didn't want to startle the prey. He slowly looked up and just a few meters off was a nice, fat rabbit. Natsu licked his lips, excited as he crawled forward, careful to avoid any rocks or dry grass that would alert his prey of his approach. Once he was only a short leap away, he froze, waiting for just the right moment. Something snapped off to the side and the rabbit was off. Natsu stayed perfectly still, eyes trained on the direction he'd heard the noise from. It took a moment, but from the tall grass appeared a group of at least four men dressed in white lined in gold and over their faces were long red pieces of cloth with a green triangle in the middle lined in silver with a matching dot in the middle of said triangle. And they were pointing right at him while talking to each other. Natsu snarled and bolted away, back towards his and Igneel's cave. He knew once he got there, he'll be safe again. He didn't know what these people wanted with him, but he knew he just had to get away. A scent reminding Natsu of ink, leather, blood and sweat came up with a gust of wind just before a hand grabbed his wrist. Instantly, he began thrashing around, twisting his wrist in the grip held on him. His free hand flew back and began clawing at the massive, brown arm attached to said hand as he screamed, kicked, hissed, and fought against his attacker as best he could. His eyes caught sight of the long, silvery-pale hair and the odd tattoos on his face, not even slightly twisted in pain.

"Let go of me! Igneel'll kill you if you don't! Get off me right now!" The man holding his wrist smirked and began walking away, dragging Natsu behind him, the boy yelling, screaming, scratching, kicking, anything to get away but the man's grip was unrelenting.

"Igneel!" Natsu screamed, praying his draconic father could hear him and was coming. Natsu's yelling was so loud, he didn't hear the man give orders to the people wearing masks, but he did hear their response to the orders.

"Yes, Master Brain." Then two men moved forward and each one grabbed onto one of his wrists. His kicking began anew with a new ferocity but neither seemed phased by the boy's raging outburst. A sudden pain bloomed on the back of his neck as a rush of heat coursed through his body and his vision began to haze, spin and darken until he fell back into a silent darkness. Natsu's eyes were slow to open as he came around, but he could feel something cold wrapped around his wrists and ankles and his clothes felt funny. As his eyes opened, he saw something silver around his wrist. He blinked a few times and shook his head, trying to get rid of the sensation of his brain being replaced with cotton. He took in the sight of the spider-web-like wires holding him up over a deep pit. People in white and gold with the odd masks were standing around the perimeter of the pit, with the brown-skinned, tattoo-faced man from earlier, Brain they'd called him, if Natsu recalled correctly. He began struggling against the wires, pulling them closer to himself, scratching at them with his dull fingernails and even biting at them when they got close to his face. Brain smiled wickedly as he turned on the machine. The wires sparked with purple electricity. Natsu's back arched as the electricity raced through him, making his hair stand on end, goosebumps to arise on his skin and he could practically smell the burning of flesh and hair on his wrists and ankles. The little boy screamed and his struggling returned with a vengeance. He could hear the snapping of tiny wires and for a moment, a smile flashed across his face, the idea of getting free jumping into his mind. Those thoughts were shattered the second the tiny, fraying wires jumped up, zapping his arms, legs, abdomen and chest and leaving behind burns that almost instantly turned to an angry red color. Natsu threw his head back as a new wave of screams tore from his throat, turning his throat raw and sore. But his struggling didn't cease. Brain watched from his perch with a sly smile and drummed his fingers on the control panel.

"Interesting," he thought, watching the tiny, pink-haired boy thrash about, trying to escape.

"The boy has barely even begun to really tap into his abilities, yet he already possesses such strength." The man casually turned the dial on the panel, increasing the power. Natsu's scream reached a new octave as the lightning bounced around him. His clothes smoked as they burned and a few of the people around the edge of the pit shifted uncomfortably at the sound of Natsu's screaming and the smell of his burning skin. Time blurred into a confusing swirl of blinding pain, burns blooming on his skin and heat spiraling in his stomach, almost like a muscle slowly contracting, threatening to snap at any moment. Seconds bled into minutes, which slipped into hours, not that Natsu could even tell how long the torture went on. His chest hurt, his throat was raw, the stench of his own skin burning attacked his sense of smell and nauseated his stomach, and heat pooled in his body, tightening every muscle to the point of pain and cramping. With one last scream after Brain had turned the dial to fully max, the tension snapped, the heat being replaced with an icy coolness in his muscles. Air rushed past his ears for a split second before he landed on the bottom of the pit, the landing knocking the air out of his abused and weary body. Natsu coughed as he rolled over and glanced around. Just off to the side of him was a hole blasted in the wall that lead right to the desert outside. Wheezing, bleeding and crying, Natsu pulled himself through the hole and looked around to gain his bearings. He could see a forest not too far off and smell the trail the people in the masks had used to bring him there. The boy took a deep breath and forced himself to stand, wincing whenever the remains of his pale green robe brushed against his wounds. Natsu took another breath before running towards the trees as fast as his legs could carry him. Blood from him wounds made the hot desert sand stick to the bottom of his feet, making him hiss at the sensation but he pressed on.

Leaves and branches hit his open wounds, making tears spring in his eyes as his chest burned from both his wounds and his running robbing his lungs of air. Despite the pain he was in, the ache that was settling in his muscles, and the pure exhaustion flooding him, he didn't want to be able to smell that place anymore before he stopped. The moon had risen over the treetops by the time Natsu paused to sniff the air. He began naming off what he could: wood, animals, berries, herbs, grass, and rotting leaves filled his nose and he heaved a sigh as he couldn't smell anything that he couldn't recognize off the top of his head. br /His exhausted legs dropped him to the ground at that instant. The boy smiled, relieved, as he crawled to a tree trunk and curled up in the massive roots and let his eyes close. In an instant, he was asleep.

Two to four days later...

Natsu woke up to a peaceful forest, perfectly shielded in his rooty haven. He looked over the burns littering his arms and the kneecaps tucked under his chin and winced at the angry red marring his skin. The boy groaned as he pushed and pulled himself from his hiding place, his joints creaking as he did. He carefully stretched, being as mindful as possible of his wounds and hissed whenever one cracked open again. He stood up and looked around. The sun was barely cresting the eastern horizon, just giving the boy enough light to see his surroundings. He didn't recognize them, so he knew he wasn't near home. Natsu sighed a little and sniffed the air. He couldn't smell his father's scent yet, but that didn't mean he wasn't close. He knew Igneel's cave was situated at the base of the mountains and in such a way that the sun would trace the arc of the entrance as the day went on. So all he had to do was find the mountains and have the sun on his back. Natsu yawned as he trudged forward, praying he was going in the right direction. He still felt exhausted, but more than anything, he wanted to get home. Again, Natsu found time slipping past him as the minutes bled into each other, hours becoming a swirl of disappointment, pain, tears, and screaming his father's name. It was somewhere between noon and sunset when Natsu's weary feet gave out under him again, leaving him a teary, battered little thing curled in a ball, too tired to find a temporary shelter, and too hurt from his reopened wounds to want to.

"Igneel," The boy sobbed into the knees he'd pulled to his face, his arms were trembling from the strain. A loud roar broke through the silent forest, angry and pained at the same time. Natsu's eyes widened, a new surge of hope feuling him as he stood again and began running as fast as he could towards the sound.

"Igneel!" He yelled. Another roar echoed through the trees, this one more hopeful, a calling for one who'd been thought lost.

"IGNEEL!"

"Nastu!?" Natsu broke out of the forest, into a clearing, and standing a ways off, looming over the trees, was the massive red dragon Natsu called "Dad". The reptile's golden eyes that reflected years of wisdom within the slit-shaped pupils widened at the sight of the boy, the slits turning round as the beast moved towards the boy, shoving trees aside with his paws as he moved towards his precious little boy.

"DADDY!" Natsu screamed as he bolted forward. The boy's attention was so focused on the dragon, he didn't see the massive lumbering shadow following him into the clearing. Igneel froze in his tracks upon seeing the bear; a massive blonde-brown one with red-looking eyes. A howl came from the edge of the clearing and Natsu stopped running. The dragon's eyes shot to the clearing's edge to see at least a dozen or so smaller forms lurking in the shadows, waiting for a chance to devour something wounded and likely unable to fight. The dragon moved faster, cursing the trees in his way that took longer than the others to knock over. br /Natsu stared right at the bear as it's paw swiped the ground and it snarled at him. The boy backed away a little and fell back on his rear. The bear roared and Natsu tried backing away more. He could hear the trees giving way under Igneel's weight and strength and see the wolves prowling the shadows.

"Natsu, run!" Igneel roared, knowing he'd need time that he didn't have to get to the boy. Natsu's mind was a blurred blank. Run? What was that? Was it a food? Did it taste good? Was it the beast in front of him? Was it something he had to do? His body was frozen as the wolves began to creep out of the shadows, silvery coats glinting in the sunlight and yellow teeth bared in snarls as they came closer. Suddenly, the bear charged at the boy, great huffs of air released each time the front paws touched the ground. Natsu curled into a ball and screamed. There was a sudden, almost painful, tightness that coiled in his belly. It was much like the one from that place where he'd been taken to. This painful coil snapped almost instantly and Natsu covered his head. Igneel watched as a circle of fire burst from Natsu's body and spread out, making the bear change direction and the wolves backed away a little in apprehension. The bear's coat was singed but he was far from wounded. If anything, the fire only made him angrier.

Igneel roared as a warning as he got closer. But the bear and wolves were hungry. This was near spring, but they were too hungry to wait for nature to provide their food, especially when something like Natsu was around. Natsu looked up at the bear again and could see the rage in the large, black eyes. The boy curled up on himself even more and clutched at the tattered robe around him as if it were the only thing protecting him from the beast at the moment. Igneel burst through the trees, flapped his wings to rise to his back legs and slammed his front paws down on the ground beside Natsu. He roared at the beasts again and the wolves' ears flattened on their heads and their tails tucked under their bodies. The bear swiped at the ground again and roared. Igneel snarled before surging forward and grabbing the bear by the back. The paws swung at him, cutting into his gums and lips but they were as effective as mosquito bites against the mighty dragon. Igneel shook his head vigorously from side to side until he heard the bear's spine snap and felt it go limp in his jaws. He tossed it towards the wolves, who eyed him warily. Igneel decided not to pay them any more mind and turned his attention to Natsu, who was shaking in the ball he'd curled up in.

"Natsu?" he said gently before licking the boy's feet. Natsu uncurled a little and looked up at his father.

"Daddy!" he cried as he jumped to his feet and ran towards the dragon's paw, tears streaming down his face. He latched onto Igneel's paw at once and the dragon pulled the boy to his chest, being as tender as he could. After a moment hearing his boy cry, Igneel pulled the boy away and looked him over. His eyes were red from crying, his pale-green robe was barely more than a rag draped over the boy's back and covered in blood from the boy's still-oozing burns. A raging fire sparked to life in the dragon's eyes, but he simply licked his boy gently.

"Natsu, where have you been? It's been over twenty-four days." Natsu shook his head.

"Someone grabbed me and took me away. But…Twenty-four days?! I was out hunting just the other day!" Igneel sighed and sheathed his teeth with his lips and grabbed Natsu much like he had the bear a moment before. Natsu could feel Igneel's blood slowly soaking into his robe, which got into his wounds on his back from the zapping he got, and bit the inside of his cheek a little, feeling bad that Igneel had gotten hurt protecting him. Igneel's wings spread out and flapped a few times to gain altitude before he took off towards the cave the two of them called home. Natsu was silent the entire way, something Igneel was instantly wary of. Once he landed at the cave's opening, Igneel sniffed the air. Satisfied that no unknown scents lingered in the air, the dragon brought his son into the cave and set him down on the large pile of cloth that served as the boy's bed. Still sheathing his sharp fangs, Igneel gently tugged off the tattered shreds of fabric of Natsu's body, leaving him an a pair of black trunks the strangers must have put on him. The dragon's eyes burned molten gold but he shook his head before he gently began licking at Natsu's wounds. The boy hissed at the feeling of the sting from the saliva but he simply sat up straight and endured, knowing his father would never harm him intentionally. He stayed still until Igneel finished, leaving his son's skin slightly pink from the rough texture of his tongue and the trace amount of blood in his saliva, which had healed his wounds close, through Natsu could still feel the pain.

"Natsu, are you alright?" The dragon asked gently as he laid down next to the boy's bed. Natsu nodded, but said nothing. Igneel's eyes narrowed at this.

"Then talk to me. If something is wrong, I cannot do anything about it unless I'm told. I may be powerful, boy, but I cannot read minds." Natsu looked up at Igneel and reached out, touching one of the bloody scrapes the bear had left on Igneel's upper lip.

"You got hurt because I can't protect myself…" He said quietly. Igneel licked the boy's hand tenderly and nuzzled the boy and gently as possible.

"You're young, barely more than a hatchling. It's my job to protect you and that is what I will do. Now, get some rest. You'll need it." Natsu nodded and curled up on his blankets. Igneel pulled a couple blankets over the boy and licked him again before moving so he could watch the entrance and extend a wing over Natsu's bed protectively. Night came quickly over the valley, but through the hours until the sun rose again, Igneel's mind replayed Natsu's attack against the bear and drifted to an ancient magic that he might just need to start teaching the boy.

Time skip: 4 AM

A sudden pain bloomed on the back of his neck as a rush of heat coursed through his body and his vision began to haze, spin and darken until he fell back into a silent darkness. Natsu's eyes were slow to open as he came around, but he could feel something cold wrapped around his wrists and ankles and his clothes felt funny. In an instant, he was asleep. Natsu woke up to a peaceful forest, perfectly shielded in his rooty haven.

* * *

Annie: That's the rewriting chapter of chapter one. I added a couple of things here and there to make it a little bit better. Just2protect is going to help me rewrite Natsu, The Fire Dragon Prince as well as my other stories when we get to that.

Just2protect: I can't wait to start chapter two.

Natsu: Oi, who's the new guy?

Annie: My friend and sibling figure on Fanfiction. Their helping me to rewrite your story.

Natsu: *Looks at the new version of his story* Damn. Looks better than the first chapter. No offence.

Annie: None taking.

All three: Ja Na.


	2. Chapter 2

Annie: Hey, everyone. This is a rewriting version of chapter two.

Just2protect: Natsu is starting to do magic has started back when he first meets Atlas.

Annie: Let the story begins.

P.S,

There'll be some blood here in the story.

* * *

April 12, X773

Igneel smiled slightly at the sight of Natsu stretched out on the grass, smiling broadly at the sun. It had been a few weeks since Natsu finally returned from the people who'd stolen him away. Not a day passed that Igneel thought of flying to the place where Natsu had been held and tormented by those creatures and turning every last spec of it into a pile of ashes. But he knew he couldn't leave his boy alone. Not just yet at least. True, Natsu had healed up well enough with daily tongue-baths from Igneel and the dragon had begun teaching his boy about magic, but he wasn't comfortable leaving Natsu alone just yet. The moment he'd realized someone had taken the boy from him, unwanted memories resurfaced and Igneel felt more terrified than he cared to admit. A scent suddenly appeared in the air. Despite the familiarity of it, Igneel stood instantly and sniffed, trying to figure out exactly who was coming.

"Natsu! Come here now!" Natsu instantly got up and ran to his father, hiding behind the massive tail as Igneel crouched, ready for a fight.

"And here I thought the boy liked me?" Igneel snapped his head around. Clinging to the mountainside was a dragon roughly the same size as Igneel but where Igneel had ruby-red scales protecting his skin, this dragon had pure Hellfire that cackled as he moved and sent tiny embers into the air.

"Uncle Atlas!" Natsu cheered as the dragon leapt from the mountain and opened his wings, allowing him to float gently to the ground.

"What are you doing here? I thought my next magic lesson wasn't until next week?"

"Your father thought it might be a good idea to have lessons more often." Atlas explained as the boy ran forward. Atlas was careful to not touch Natsu yet. As well as the boy had been doing with learning magic, there was still a ways to go before a true fire wouldn't harm him anymore and Atlas's Hellfire would likely burn the boy to a crisp with a single touch.

"Really?!" Natsu cheered, looking to Igneel with an excited grin. The red dragon nodded and Natsu began to jump around cheering.

"There's also the fact that I need to go on a hunt." the dragon explained. Natsu's jumping ceased and he tipped his head to the side.

"Winter is coming. You nor myself will want to go out much come the cold. We'll need to stock up on some meat before the chill comes. I'll be back before long." He assured as he touched his nose to Natsu, letting the boy hug him.

"I'll expect to see just how well you've learned from Uncle Atlas when I return, alright?" Natsu nodded, his grin returning.

"I'll keep him safe, old friend." Atlas promised as the red dragon straightened up.

"I know you will." Igneel stretched out his wings and took off with a leap into the skies. Natsu followed his father with his eyes until Igneel was nothing more than a spec on the horizon.

"Bye Dad! I'll train really, really hard, I promise!" Natsu called.

"Come home safe!" Atlas looked down at his surrogate-nephew and smiled. When Atlas had first appeared a few days after Natsu's return, he'd almost terrified the boy into thinking he was some kind of undead dragon or something. But once Atlas had explained he was an old friend of Igneel, the boy had leapt around for joy, calling him 'Uncle Atlas' almost instantly.

"Now then, shall we start with your warm-up?" Atlas asked. Natsu nodded and sat down, crossing his legs as best he could before sitting up straight and closing his eyes and letting his palms face the skies on his knees. Atlas had taught him that in order to use magic, he had to be connected with the magic inside himself. All humans had the potential to use magic, but only a few could find the mental power and discipline to actually use it. So in order to help Natsu connect with his own magic ability, Atlas had told the boy to start meditating and he'd been making excellent progress. Natsu took deep breaths, focusing on finding that tiny strand of magic that was always there, like a string he knew was hanging off his clothes but sometimes just couldn't find. He felt that tiny sensation that sent goosebumps up his spine and made his burn scars tingle; his magic. He mentally latched on and tugged it towards himself. Atlas sensed the shift in Natsu's energy from normal, human energy to that of a magical being, and he nodded approvingly.

"That's it, my boy." he said gently as he turned to his own magical power. He continued to speak gentle, encouraging words to the boy as he focused. Atlas' form began to shrink and his Hellfire turned to somewhat tanned human skin. His head sprouted red hair that was short save for a ponytail near the bottom that reached the middle of his back. His eyes turned from pure flame to a golden-amber color. He looked to only be about twenty years old but stood at an imposing 6'7" with bulging muscles that had developed while in dragon form. Natsu continued to follow the tiny string of magic inside of himself, feeling the energy growing in strength. He had to remain calm and slowly draw the magic to him, lest he break the tiny, delicate connection he now held. He could feel it growing within him, turning his fingertips numb with excitement. The muscles in his stomach began to coil.

"Deep breaths in…and out…in…out." Atlas instructed. Natsu obeyed, calming his nerves as the coil in his stomach lessened but didn't vanish. Atlas smiled as a spark began to dance on Natsu's palm and the boy didn't even flinch. Another spark popped into existence in his other hand. One by one, mare sparks appeared in his hands, dancing over his fingertips and palm. Natsu's fingers began to twitch at the sensation of something tickling his hands, making the sparks jump more around his hand.

"Very good Natsu." Atlas said. Natsu's eyes opened and he looked down at the sparks alive in his hands before his face broke into a massive grin. "Got a good hold on it now?" Atlas asked. Natsu nodded and allowed his mentor to pull him to his feet so the boy could focus on keeping hold of the magical connection between his physical form and the tiny sparks in his hands.

"Now turned them into a fireball, like a showed you." Natsu closed his eyes and pressed his hands together, imagining the sparks coming together to create a true flame in his palm. As he opened his eyes, he saw the flickers of a flame in between his fingers and pulled his hands apart, showing a rather small fireball in his hand that barely gave off any heat at all. Still, Atlas nodded and smiled approvingly.

"Now, throw it at me."

"Alright…one sec," Natsu said as he closed his eyes again. Atlas backed up some to give Natsu some room to throw.  
"Remember, don't try to make it bigger yet, otherwise you might lose control." Natsu nodded and opened his eyes, looking from the tiny fireball in his hands to his mentor a few times before taking a deep breath and pulling his arm back. The boy threw the fireball as hard as he could, willing the flame to stay alive until it hit its target. Atlas watched as the flame managed to hold until it neared him. He raised his hand and caught the fireball in his palm. It felt like a warmed stone in his experienced fingers and while the flame flickered, there was barely enough to fill his palm. He brought it to his mouth and swallowed it down quickly. It released a wave of goosebumps down his spine but he barely moved to show the discomfort. Natsu fell back onto his rump in exhaustion and Atlas came over and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"It's getting better. Just remember to focus on the heat, not the size next time, alright?" Natsu nodded, still panting as a thin layer of sweat made itself visible on his skin from the exertion.

"Go lay down. I'll get you something to help restore your energy." Natsu nodded and let Atlas help him into his bed before he promptly passed out. Atlas stayed in human form as he took a jar from the cave towards the river to get a drink for his young pupil. Even in the smaller form, he could smell something in the forest that should not have been there. His eyes never stopped scanning the forest even when he returned to the cave. He set the jug by Natsu's bed and ruffled the boy's messy hair before taking a seat near the entrance. Atlas' eyes scanned, but his mind wandered to a few weeks back, when he'd first met the human boy who'd managed to work his way into the heart of the King of the Fire Dragons. Natsu had still been badly injured from his ordeal and it was obvious that the situation had frightened Igneel, even if the dragon refused to say a word on the matter. Since then, Igneel had asked him to search for a place that reeked of the scents clinging to the scrap of fabric that had been on the boy when he came home. And while he hadn't been able to, Igneel had made use of the time when Atlas was teaching Natsu the first aspects of using magic. True, Igneel could've done it himself, but Atlas knew more of teaching a young male of the fire magic that pumped through the veins of the Fire Dragons and thus, Igneel had left it to his oldest friend to teach Natsu the first few steps. A feat that was proving more difficult than initially thought as one tiny detail had slipped Atlas' mind at the time; Despite Igneel calling Natsu his son, the fact remained the Natsu didn't possess a drop of true Fire Dragon blood fresh with sparks in him. True, he had some of Igneel's blood inside him from when the bear had attacked the dragon, but Igneel hadn't used fire, so his blood lacked the spark of flame that all Fire Dragons had. But during those lessons, Igneel had made use of the time and hunted for the creatures who'd dared to lay their hands upon and torture his beloved son. He'd sworn he'd make them feel the pain Natsu felt a thousand times over if they were so much as wary of his son's presence in the place. And that's exactly what he was doing right at that moment.

Even though Atlas couldn't hear or see his old friend, he knew that Igneel had found the place and was now reeking the justice that only the King of the Fire Dragons could bestow upon those who'd dared harm the boy who was the Prince of the Fire Dragons in all but blood, this precious child, little Natsu. Atlas snapped to attention when he heard something snap in the forest. It had to be at least a small ways away but Atlas could still hear it. He sniffed the air and the circular pupils in his eyes turned to hair-thin-slits as his skin burst into flames. He smelled humans, steel, leather, stone, dogs and blood. Atlas stepped out of the cave as he returned to his dragon form, inadvertently waking Natsu from his nap.

"Uncle Atlas?" he asked as he stepped out of the cave, rubbing one of his eyes.

"Get back inside Natsu, now," he said, turning his head to the boy and urging him back. Natsu fell over his own feet and let out a yell as his elbow hit the stone of the cave floor. Atlas heard humans begin to yell and snapped around to see at least a dozen or so of them standing in the shade of the trees, at least two or three dogs to each man that were straining at their leashes, eager to fight the massive dragon before them. Igneel released another stream of fire, feeling it warm his belly and throat as the golden flames engulfed the wretched place that had trapped and tormented his son. Foolhardy humans were running about, their clothes aflame, screaming for help that would not come. The building gave a groan of protest as Igneel's fire hit the base, spreading up the sides and all but swirling around the foundation, before it tipped precariously to one side and fell into the sand, sending up a cloud of the substance into the smoke-blackened skies. Yet, despite seemingly having destroyed the building, Igneel's frustration grew. There was a scent missing from this place; the scent that had been clinging to Natsu's wrist where he'd claimed the man "Brain" had held him the day he was taken.

Igneel watched as the remains of the ruined building collapsed in on themselves, leaving no place for anyone to have survived. The King of the Fire Dragons shook his head and turned away from the wreckage and a scent came to him on the winds. He looked and standing on a hill was a small child, probably around Natsu's age, with short black hair and dressed in the same robe Natsu had been forced into. Her eyes were wide and she began to scream at Igneel. The dragon had little concern for this child who reeked of ice, hate and rage. He simply spread his wings and took off into the skies. He wasn't satisfied, but he'd done all he could for now. His hunt for this Brain character could wait. For now, the place where his son had been tormented was destroyed and those involved had been punished. The fire was still alight inside him as his wings stretched over the treetops, those tall enough to actually touch the scaly appendages lost their green tops in a sudden explosion of wood splinters and greenery. The dragon's golden eyes scanned the forest floor for anything he could use as an excuse for his 'hunting' trip. Then, he smelled a very familiar coppery smell that turned the gold into molten amber in his eyes and his pupils slitted in rage once he realized where the smell was coming from. The dragon opened his maw and released a trumpet of a roar, his war cry, as he neared the cave he called home. The forest close to the entrance was still alight with Atlas' Hellfire and at least a dozen humans were running around, throwing spears, shooting arrows at the dragon made of fire. Burning corpses of dogs littered the ground near Atlas' talons and hiding within the cave, was Natsu. Igneel roared again as he landed on the mountainside and slid down until he stood next to Atlas, releasing a stream of fire for him to land on. Once his talons hit the scorched earth, Igneel released another trumpet into the air, to which, Atlas responded with one of his own.

"Get the demons!" One of the men yelled.

"They can't be allowed to eat that boy!" Igneel released a huff of smoke from his nostrils as Atlas huffed fire.

"I told you geezers, my daddy won't eat me!" Natsu screamed from inside the cave before Igneel shook his head. Even if Natsu denied the men's claims until the day he died, none of them would believe him. They believed the old spinsters' tales of dragons eating humans and thought Natsu was meant to be the next meal between Atlas and Igneel. Humans could be such a petty and disgusting bunch when they grew up ignorant of everything and never took the courage to reach for something new on their own. Some of the men began to charge at Igneel and Atlas, to which the Hellfire-dragon released a stream of fire around himself and his King, cutting off the approach. Spears and arrows flew through the roaring flames, only to bounce off the scales on Igneel's shoulders, neck and forelegs.

One of the humans threw a spear towards Atlas, but the weapon slipped through his body of fire, instead stabbing Igneel in a lesser-protected part of his underbelly. The dragons roared and turned towards the human in question.  
Natsu watched the spear pierce his father's side, only to fall to the ground when Igneel moved, the shaft ablaze and the tip covered in blood. A movement caught his eye. Right on the edge of the mountain, the fire had gone out just enough for one human to sneak through, his dogs straining at their leashes and a new spear in his hand.  
Natsu's eyes snapped between the man's wicked smirk, the bloodied spear and Igneel who was still distracted with the human who'd initially injured him.

"Stay away…" Natsu breathed as he stood up. The man was too far away to hear him and the roars of the dragons too loud for either of them to hear the boy.

"Stay away," Natsu said again, taking a step out of the cave. The dogs noticed the movement but continued to pull on their restraints, hoping to please their master by felling the King of the Fire Dragons. The man raised his spear. He was close enough to throw the spear right into Igneel's underbelly and into his vital organs.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY DADDY!" Natsu roared as he burst out of the cave at full speed and tackled the man. His small fists began beating at the man's face, neck, chest, anyplace he could reach. A sudden pain ripped through his leg and he screamed, seeing one of the man's massive black dogs biting into his calf. The man beneath him scrabbled for his spear, but the tip broke off in his grip and the momentum caused the blade of the weapon to bury itself into Natsu's right side, just under his ribs and into his liver. The other dog grabbed onto his arm as their master reached for another blade on his belt. Natsu's mind began to go blank to the pain, instead feeling a numbness and a tingling sensation spreading through him. He smashed his fist down on the muzzle of the dog on his arm again and again until he was released. His leg kicked the other dog away before he returned to beating the man under him. The man's hand came up, spear tip in hand, and the edge caught the side of Natsu's neck, leaving behind a jagged cut as the man tried to grab the boy's shoulder, only to end up pushing the tip further into the boy's neck. Natsu felt the dogs grab onto his legs again. His vision blurred in and out of focus with black spots dancing around, but he began to beat down on the man harder. The dogs yanked and Natsu felt everything spin for a moment before he saw the man over him, dagger in hand and a wild look in his beady black eyes.  
This time, Natsu felt the blade as it dug through his skin and muscles. Breathing almost instantly became a chore as the man's blade was twisted into Natsu's chest. The boy coughed and sputtered, blood speckling his face as his brain became over-flooded with the pain in his legs, arms, side and neck and his chest now felt a sickly odd sensation of being both boiling hot and icy cold at the same time.

The man's hand yanked the blade from Natsu's chest. He could feel warm blood oozing over his shirt and skin and scars. Hot tears streaked down his face as the man lifted the bloody dagger once again. Natsu's eyes shut tightly as the man began to yell, ready to strike the final blow.

(There's going to be a Igneel Point Of View on his reaction)

Igneel's POV

Igneel had felt so many reactions that he couldn't understand it:

Seeing Natsu leave the cave cause him to be angry as Natsu was safe inside the cave than out here in the open when he can be taking away from him and he knows Natsu wouldn't like that and would fight them to get back to him. Seeing Natsu beating the man up, he got so much pride, proud and joy from seeing Natsu protecting him and harming someone that harmed his family even if they blood and flesh or not, but now Natsu is getting hurt by the dogs and human that he felt rage and fury at that site in front of him with what is happening to his son and now THAT human was going for the final blow to his son cause him to feel so much RAGE as well as hateness at the human for attaining to kill his son by a stab to the heart!

End of Igneel's POV

Natsu waited for what seemed like an eternity. His eyes were squeezed so tightly shut that he couldn't see even the tiniest hint of light. The man's yell was ringing in his ears as he wheezed in a breath. It felt almost as if Igneel was stepping on his chest and telling him to breathe normally. He knew where the blade was going to strike; his heart. So he waited for the sting of the blade on his skin again, then to be followed with nothing…But…It never came. The man's yell turned into a howl of agony and a weight was lifted from Natsu's hips as the sound of bones being crushed accompanied the man's tormented voice. There was a whoosh of air and a resounding THUMP that Natsu could feel in his fingertips.

"You dare to harm my son?!" Igneel roared as Natsu's eyes fluttered open. The dragon dropped the man onto the forest floor and roared in his face.

"Natsu, look away." Natsu simply closed his eyes but after a second, peeked with one, just in time to see Igneel's powerful jaws snap at the man, taking the upper half of his body in the dragon's maw. The man flailed somewhat, his dagger shattering against the scales protecting the underside of Igneel's jaw. Igneel flicked his head this way and that until he heard a rather satisfying snap of the man's spine. The dragon inhaled through his nose and felt the sparks of flame come to life in his belly. He breathed a stream of fire over the body as he roared. He snapped his head back and released the flaming corpse into the air, before turning to his bleeding boy. Atlas watched as the body crashed into one of the ledges much higher on the mountain and remained still, almost like a warning to any other humans who would attempt such a disgusting action as attack the son of the Fire Dragon King.

"Natsu," Igneel purred gently as he licked at his son's legs. The dog bites tasted bad, meaning they were probably infected with whatever those mangy mongrels had in their jaws. But Igneel was most concerned with the massive puddle of blood now swelling around Natsu's tiny body and just how much of the substance was on his chest, only visible due to the sun's reflecting off it.

"Daddy…" Natsu managed, reaching out and patting the tip of his father's nose with a shaky hand. Atlas reverted to his human form and ran to the boy's side, pulling his head into his lap and feeling at the pulse point just under his jaw. Igneel's eyes flashed with worry and Atlas' grim look did nothing to assist the nerves of the father. Igneel looked from his boy to his own arm a few times before pushing Atlas away with his nose. Atlas understood instantly and moved aside. Igneel raised his arm over the boy and bit down hard into his own skin until he could taste the spicy, coppery taste of blood in his mouth and feel the liquid dripping off his lips. Atlas watched in anxious hope as Igneel's blood began to cover Natsu entirely, painting him a flame-red, almost like his father's scales.

"You're really doing it, aren't you old friend?" Atlas thought to himself.

"You're going to use Blood Fusion to save him?" Once Natsu was completely covered in Igneel's blood, the dragon released his arm and after 40 minutes of Igneel's blood being soaked into Natsu's body, Igneel began to lick at his boy, much like he had done when Natsu first came home weary, exhausted and burnt. Natsu began screaming and holding onto his father as tightly as he could. His fingernails began to grow a little and the places where his scars were as well as his newer wounds, became harder and more solid, like scales. Natsu's teeth grew out a little, resembling the fangs a dragon would needed to rip their prey apart. His pink hair began to grow out and turn red at the tips of the ends and front of his hair, reaching his shoulders and nearly matching his father's scales. When the process was done, Natsu fell back against the grass, too exhausted to do much more than pant for air. Igneel picked his boy up by the front of his clothes and brought him back into the cave, followed quickly by Atlas, who simply watched as Igneel put the boy in his bed and licked at the blood remaining on his clothes before removing them to clean the now healed wounds before he let Atlas put fresh cloths onto Natsu's body before Igneel had tack his son in.

'I hope you plan to explain to him exactly what you've done, Igneel.' Atlas thought.

'After all, that boy isn't human anymore. Half human, half dragon…Completely, the Prince of the Fire Dragons.'

* * *

Annie: That's the rewriting chapter of chapter two. I added a couple of things here and there to make it a little bit better.

Just2protect: I can't wait to start chapter three.

Natsu: Oi, what's the big idea of me getting hurt here?!

Both me and Just2protect: OUR CHOOSE, FLAME BREATH! ROAR OF THE HELL/HEAVEN DRAGON!

Natsu: *X.X*

Both again: Ja Ne! ^-^


	3. Chapter 3

Annie: Hey, everyone. This is a rewriting version of chapter three.

Just2protect: Natsu is starting to do training with Atlas.

Annie: Let the story begins.

* * *

June 30, X777  
"Come on now Natsu, I know you can do better than that." Atlas encouraged as the long, slightly sharpened stick in his hand came up to block a blow from a similar stick in Natsu's hands. The Prince of the Fire Dragons jumped back, holding the stick like a sword and shaking a few short hairs from his eyes. His hair had grown to the point where he had to put it in a ponytail at the base of his skull to keep it out of his face during the day. The old scars from before his Blood Fusion with his father were covered by red scales that despite the fact they were as thin as Natsu's human skin, were stronger than any human armor, much like real dragon scales. Igneel was off to the side, watching his oldest friend and his son sparring with a distracted eye. It was clear that something was on his mind, but he refused to say anything of it. Natsu charged at his uncle again, relishing in the sharp CLACK CLACK CLACK of his stick striking Atlas' and the slight burn in his palm when he struck a little too hard, making the wood shift in his hand somewhat. Atlas nodded approvingly before pushing Natsu back with the stick.

"Now, let's show your father exactly what you can do." Atlas encouraged with a proud smile before Natsu smirked.

"Watch this Dad!" Natsu yelled, snapping the massive reptile from his thoughts. The boy closed his eyes for a second and his grip tightened until his knuckles turned white. The end of his stick began to burn brightly and spread down towards his hands.

"FIRE DRAGON TALON SLASH!" Natsu roared as he leapt into the air and slashed down towards Atlas with the flaming weapon. The other male leapt to the side and rolled but the attack still struck right where he'd been standing. The earth now bore four deep gouges very much resembling the marks left behind by dragon talons. The earth now bore four deep gouges very much resembling the marks left behind by dragon talons. Igneel nodded in approval and Natsu beamed brightly from the praise. Atlas cast a troubled look at his old friend and tossed the stick away.

"Natsu, why don't you get cleaned up, get something to eat then go to bed? You've earned it." The Prince nodded before running off towards the river that divided Igneel's territory neatly in two. Atlas watched until the boy was out of sight before turning into his dragon form and laying down beside his King.

"You seem rather distracted today, old friend. What troubles you?"  
"Does nothing escape your eyes, Atlas?" Igneel chuckled, shaking his head. Atlas remained silent for a moment as Igneel took a deep breath.

"There is something on my mind. But I will not discuss it until Natsu cannot hear me." Atlas nodded and sat silently.  
The two dragons remained so until the moon was high in the sky and the young Prince's snoring matched the rhythm of their own breathing.

"Is now a proper time to ask what is it that has you so distracted from your own son?" Atlas asked, turning to the red dragon. Igneel huffed smoke from his nostrils and stood until he sat squarely on his haunches, his eyes drifting towards the cave where his precious Natsu snored on, perfectly oblivious of the serious atmosphere surrounding his father now.

"I have been meeting with the other Royal Dragons. Their children are growing stronger as well, much like Natsu. But…as it would seem, you are the last subordinate of the Royal Dragons still alive today." Atlas' eyes widened.

"Do you mean…" Atlas shot a terrified look towards the cave then back to his king.

"What shall we do? Surely he will find them if he does not know of them already." Atlas hissed under his breath. Igneel gave his friend a hard glare.

"The reason I have been distracted…is because of a plan that the White Dragon King and the Iron Dragon King have come up with. And that is to magically infuse ourselves within our children. The Sky Dragon Queen outright refused at first. But after some discussion, she has been swayed into agreeing it would be best for her young princess." Atlas rose to his feet and his tail smashed against the ground.

"Have you gone mad? Have they all gone mad? If you all were to vanish, who would protect the children from Ac-" Igneel turned on his friend and snapped his jaws near Atlas' own massive maw.

"Do not speak his name!" Igneel snarled, shooting anxious glances at the cave. Natsu's snoring was interrupted by his sleepy cheer of something delicious.

"Metalicana made it clear. If we hide ourselves within the children, their scent will be mixed with ours to the point where even he won't be able to discern exactly who they are. All we can do is pray that none of the children run into him." Atlas glared hard at his king.

"And what of Natsu? The other children have not been through what he has."

"On the contrary, the humans became bold enough in the past few years to attack all the children at least once. The White and Shadow Dragon Kings nearly lost their boys if not for the lacrima they had to put in them. Let us be thankful Natsu never got that seriously injured."

"In the past few years? As in…"

"The White Dragon King claims that not even a season had passed between Natsu's return and when his own boy was attacked. Metalicana's boy was attacked a mere two years ago and the Shadow Dragon's boy just last year. And the Sky Dragon Queen reports her girl was attacked a mere three months ago. The child is a mere five years old." Atlas sat back on his haunches.

"When we do this, Atlas, I want you to take Natsu to a human town and hide there. Hopefully the scents of humans will cling to you and you will be able to hide as well." Atlas nodded.

"I will be entrusting him to you, old friend." Atlas nodded again, more grim than before.

"I will raise him as I would my own son. But, he will want to know what has happened to you. What am I to say?"

"Tell him I went away on a journey. That it is for the good of dragon kind. But tell him nothing of what the other dragons and I have planned. One day, we will return and upon that day, that demon shall fall."

"And when is this to occur?" Atlas asked solemnly, already not liking the answer.

"In a week, on July 7th."

Time skip: X777 June 30th

Igneel rested his cheek against his son's sleeping body one last time before gently licking his cheek before gentile nuzzling Natsu's cheek making Natsu smile in his sleep making Ingeel smile as well from the smiling Natsu in front of him sleeping so peaceful, so calm and so pure.

"You can still back out of this." Atlas pressed from his place against the wall of the cave in human form. Scattered around him were a few packages wrapped in brown paper; heirlooms for Natsu from his father with 4 shoulder bags (Japanese school bags like the ones in Japan) to put them in.

"This is the best way to protect him from that demon." Igneel said. Atlas could hear it was directed more towards the Fire Dragon King himself, rather than his friend.

"My boy is in your hands now, Atlas Flame. Raise him well." Atlas looked away, but nodded as he swallowed thickly. His eyes closed as Igneel's body began to glow red and shrink until he was naught more than a small sphere of red light. The light hovered for a moment before slowly sinking into Natsu's chest. Atlas' head turned back to the scene to see Natsu's body glow with the same red color his father had become and slowly, the light condensed over where his father had vanished into him, taking the form of a flame with three tongues with a dragon's horn crossing with a sword just as long.

"The crest of the Fire Dragon Prince, huh?" Atlas muttered as the light vanished and Natsu rolled over, ever oblivious to the fact that his father would not be there in physical form when he awoke.

The Next Morning, Natsu yawned widely as the sun's light began to peek into the cave and cast the warm rays over his face. The Prince's eyes fluttered open and he rubbed them as he sat up. He sniffed the air and froze. His head jerked upwards and sniffed harder. He couldn't smell Igneel's scent at all. Natsu's hands shot to the bed and launched him from the pile to land on his feet right in front of Atlas.

"So you're awake?" the dragon-turned-human said with a raised brow.

"Where's Dad?" Natsu asked. Atlas could hear the fear and near-panic in his Prince's voice and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath.

"Natsu, Igneel went on a journey and for right now, has left you in my care. He doesn't want you to go after him for right now. Believe me, this is for your own good. Do you understand?" Natsu's eyes widened at the news and his mouth opened and closed like a fish on the riverbank. His legs trembled and his hands shook as they came up to push through the shorter hairs framing his face.

"Dad… But… He…Dragons don't…I…" Atlas swallowed thickly again. While it may not have been well known among humans, but dragons never abandoned family, even if they were too weak and/or sick to be of any help or use. Despite being animals, dragons saw themselves as more reasonable and humane than the humans who claimed to rule the earth. Atlas laid a hand on Natsu's shoulder.

"He didn't abandon you. He just has to handle something that's too dangerous for you to be involved in for right now," he said calmly. Natsu's hands clenched into fists and his jaw clenched.

* * *

Annie: That's the rewriting chapter of chapter three. I added a couple of things here and there to make it a little bit better.

Just2protect: I can't wait to start chapter four. I also thought it might be a good story point to put in how even Igneel fears Acnologia so much he'd attack his oldest friend for saying his name. It would give the readers an idea of how much stronger Acnologia is than Igneel as well as when Natsu ends up defeating Acnologia, just how powerful this kid has become.

Annie: I know.

Just2protect: And my person idea would be to have him gradually surpass people around his so the readers watch this progression. He starts off with maybe Mira as a young teenager, then Erza, then Jellal, and so on and so forth until eventually, he surpasses Guildarts and Acnologia.

Natsu: Oi, what's the big idea of me losing Igneel like that?! You could of changed it where the dragons stay!

Both me and Just2protect: OUR CHOOSE, FLAME HEAD! CHAOS/PEACE DRAGON ROAR!

Natsu: *X.X*

Both again: Ja Ne! ^-^


	4. Chapter 4

Annie: Hey, everyone. This is a rewriting version of chapter four. Hey, Just2protect!

Just2protect: Nani, Ani? (What, Annie?)

Annie: what would you think IF Makarov though in his head that he is going to have a heart attack after everything Atlas's explains everything to him?

Just2protect: Ok. yea. That might seem funny. ^.^

* * *

"You're lying!" Natsu screamed as his fist burst into flames.

"I know what happened! You killed him so you could take the title of King of the Fire Dragons for yourself!" Natsu roared as he attempted to punch Atlas, only to grow more frustrated as the elder dodged his attacks.

"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!" Atlas grabbed Natsu's wrist before he could attack and aimed the boy's fist towards the cave's ceiling so he didn't hurt anyone.

"Natsu, a dragon will never lie to you. And nor will I. But your father told me that I was to look after you until he came back and that he left for your own safety. Believe me, my boy, there are some horrors in this world that even your father and I fear. But your father left to become stronger so that when he returns to you, what we fear will die." Natsu began to yank on his arm, trying to free himself from Atlas' grip. He began to kick and shake his head, making the tears he was failing to hold back fly off his cheeks and make his hair stick to his cheeks. Atlas bent down and wrapped his arms around the boy and held him comfortingly as he cried.

"He didn't even say good-bye…" Natsu hiccupped. Atlas hugged his Prince and rubbed up and down his back until the boy's crying began to cease.

"I know it's painful, but you're the son of Igneel and whether he's here or not, you need to show exactly what that means. Now stand up straight and set your jaw right, my boy." Atlas said as he stood up and patted Natsu's shoulder. The boy nodded and swallowed thickly before wiping the shiny tear tracks from his face and standing up straight.

"That's a good lad. Now, Igneel left a few things for you." One by one, Atlas handed Natsu the packages Igneel had left for the boy. The first one was a cloak made from a skin Igneel had once shed that wrapped around Natsu's neck and hung to brush against the backs of his heels as he walked. There were hard scales that had come out during the shedding process that now rested on his shoulders like bits of red armor. The second was a shield that Natsu could wear almost like a travel pack on his back made of Igneel's talons over the years. The third was a long beautiful sword that was roughly as long as Natsu's own arm. The pale steel glimmered in the light, almost looking white like one of Igneel's horns. Right where the blade met the hilt, Natsu could make out the tiny lines of blue-grey dragon scales, holding the blade in place. His finger slid up and down the flat of the blade, feeling ancient runes that most likely only Igneel knew the meaning of, the text was so old. The hilt was made of pure gold with a bright red ruby on the end roughly the size of an infant's fist. The fourth was a golden crown that looked like a pure band covered in swirling vine-line designs. In between the raised gold were innumerable rubies that glimmered and shone in the light. On the front was the symbol of the Fire Dragon Prince. Natsu traced the inside of the band with his finger, stopping when he came to an engraved portion. He turned the crown over and could just see a name engraved inside the ring of gold.

"Natsumi…Who's Natsumi?" Natsu asked. Atlas stood straight and sighed.

"Natsu…you're not the first child of Igneel. Natsumi was Igneel's daughter from the Queen of the Earth Dragons, Gaia, a long time ago."

"Where is she then?" Wouldn't she have more of a right to this than me?" Natsu asked, holding up the crown. Atlas pursed his lips and sighed.

"She's dead, Natsu. She was killed when she was around the same age you were when you were kidnapped a few years ago. The demon your father fears is responsible. After that, Igneel was never quite the same. But once Igneel returned to himself, was the day he gained a newborn baby boy he named Natsu." Atlas moved past Natsu and the boy hugged the symbol to his chest and bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying again. He could smell a slight scent of earth and fire on the ring, almost like a foreground to a sweet, yet salty smell that Natsu knew to associate with a young creature. But the scent was old. He missed his dad. Igneel had never told him of the dragon having any other children, but by how big the dragon had been, Natsu could've worn the crown as a ring had he been born a dragon, not turned into a hybrid. If he was a proper dragon's son, maybe then Igneel wouldn't have left him. Atlas left the boy on his bed while the elder began to pack their supplies. Natsu hugged the crown and sword to his chest, the cloak and shield secured on his shoulders, and curled into himself as best he could.

"Wherever you are Dad, I'm going to find you and bring you back home. No matter what it is you're afraid of, it can't hurt me. I've got you and Uncle Atlas, and I know as long as I have my family, nothing and no one will ever be able to hurt me." Atlas packed tow large packs full of dried meats, cloth from Natsu's bed, and large skins fashioned into perfect containers to carry water and the two left the cave behind them. Natsu walked along behind Atlas, eyes cast down so he could see Atlas' feet as they walked. Atlas knew this was hard on Natsu. Through his whole life, Igneel's cave had been the only home he'd ever known and now he was forced to abandon it. But the two walked on in silence. The sun was nearing its highest point when Atlas came to a sudden stop, causing Natsu to bump into him and be knocked onto his rear from the force. The boy's water-skin burst under the sudden weight, soaking his pants through.

"We know you're there!" Atlas called as he turned and pulled Natsu to his feet.

"Show yourselves!" Out of the trees, a gang of men wearing dark cloaks emerged. Natsu could smell something pungent that made his stomach churn as the men came closer and he moved to hide behind his uncle.

"Our apologies, kind sir." one man said as he came closer to the two than his comrades.

"We are, but humble performers looking for work. Do you know of a town nearby in which we could make a living?"

"I'm afraid not." Atlas said, shaking his head.

"My nephew, brother and I were the only ones to live around these parts until recently. We are headed for a town ourselves, but I fear there is nothing around for miles." The man grinned wickedly and Natsu's stomach churned again.

"Then there'll be no one to hear you scream!" he said. Atlas dropped his pack, threw off his traveling cloak and yanked out his own sword, pointing it at the man's throat. The other men began to draw near.

"Have you any idea with whom you're dealing?"

"A bunch of snot-nosed punks who think they're tough for ganging up on an old man and a child." Atlas sneered.

"We're the Dark Guild, Titan's Heel! Attempt to mess with us and we'll crush you underfoot!" The man yelled, seemingly having no fear of Atlas' sword as his Guild Mates came closer.

"Natsu, run! Now!" Atlas ordered. Without delay, Natsu obeyed.

"Get him you fools!" the leader yelled as Atlas pulled his sword back and struck the man in the chest with the hilt, knocking him to the ground. Natsu ran as fast as he could, jumping over logs, rocks and roots as he could and ducking this way and that. He could hear some of the Dark Guild members following him and that made him run even faster. Suddenly, a tree appeared in his path so suddenly, he couldn't stop his running and ran right into the trunk.

"Oh no! Why couldn't I have found a cave or something to hide in?!" But he didn't stop against hard bark. Instead he skidded a few feet and caught himself on his hands on a soft floor. He looked behind him as a door shut on the forest, closing Natsu inside. The son of Igneel stood up and brushed himself off before looking around. The room was filled with honeycomb-shaped shelves, save for the wall he'd just come in from. About half of the honeycombs were closed off by a small wooden door with a knot-shaped knob in the center. The floor, ceiling and the bare wall were dark red in color. The door was marked only by the golden doorknob the protruded from the wall. Natsu set down his pack and began to look around. All the honeycombs were empty but those that had small doors turned out to be drawers and just as empty. Once his exploration was done, Natsu promptly sat down, only to jump up again when he realized his pants were still soaked through.

"I wish I had a dry pair of pants already," he muttered. One of the drawers off to his side began to glow and he moved over and pulled it open to reveal a pair of pants very similar to the ones he already wore, save for the emblem of the Fire Dragon Prince stitched into the bottom of the right leg. Natsu quickly changed and replaced his wet pants in the drawer.  
He sat back down and pulled his pack back over to him and pulled it apart, going through everything inside it once more. True he had other clothes, but he had no idea how long this trip was going to be and he'd prefer not to have had to stick his wet pants into his pack. He pulled out a scarf Igneel had given him once and pulled it around his neck. He looked over the gifts his father had left again and smiled as he pulled out the sword from its sheath again. Gently, he took a corner of a blanket and began to clean the blade gently. He lost himself in the motions and soon enough, found himself remembering times when he was younger and he'd play around on his father's back and near his horns while the dragon sunbathed.

"Natsu!" The boy was pulled from his memories by his uncle's calls and he quickly repacked his pack and opened the door. Right outside, Atlas stood, looking at the boy with wide eyes and his sword still drawn.

"You called Uncle Atlas?" Natsu asked as the door shut behind him. Atlas looked from the boy to the tree he'd emerged from.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

"Do what?" Natsu asked as he turned back to the tree and pushed on the trunk, reopening the door.

"That?" Atlas nodded.

"That's not an ability one usually sees among Dragon Slayers," The elder said gently.

"It's an Abyss Room."

"A what?" Natsu asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"An Abyss Room is a very special type of magic. You literally have your very own piece of another dimension in which to store what you wish. And while in there, anything of your imagination can become reality."

"Like my pants," Natsu noted, tugging on the clothes.

"My last pair were soaked because my water-skin burst and I wished for a dry pair and these showed up in one of the drawers." Atlas nodded.

"So long as it is not a living thing, it will become reality in the confines of that room. And the best part is, you can open it wherever you wish. Even in midair without the need for a wall or tree such as this once you've practiced enough."

"Really?!" Natsu cheered. Atlas nodded.

"Let's store our packs in here and carry on. The loss of weight will allow us to travel much more freely and we'll be less likely to be targeted by anymore Dark Guilds or bandits."

"What happened to that Dark Guild anyway?" Natsu asked as he did as instructed and set his pack inside the room. Atlas put other stuff in as well and Natsu was confused by this as he never saw his uncle have them before.

"I had taking care of them by myself and tied them up when these men in blue and white appeared, declaring themselves to be the Rune Knights, working under the Magic Counsel. As for this things, I...Sort of stole them from their guild as it was really close by and when we find a home for us, we'll be using them." Atlas explained as he set his own pack inside and Natsu shut the door.

"The Rune Knights?" Natsu asked.

"Yes. They're the enforcers of the law the Magic Counsel arranges for people like you and me. Humans would call us wizards at this point." Natsu nodded, understanding.

"Because of the work I did, the Knights gave me directions to the nearest wizarding guild and some money to afford some things in town."

"Money?" Natsu asked as he and his uncle began on their way again.

"Yes. Humans use a method of trade in which they give paper known as Jewels in exchange for whatever they want, such as food, supplies, books and the like. But the items have a certain number of Jewels that must be traded in order to acquire them, do you understand?" Natsu nodded.

"Humans are weird," he noted.

"Exchanging paper for food?" Atlas nodded and continued to explain various things about humans that were different than dragons, such as how humans could earn more Jewels by doing work, and how most of that work was found in guilds and how a guild was supposed to be like a family. By the time the elder ended his lesson, they came to the doors of a tall building with the words "Fairy Tail" written above the door in blue-purple letters.

"And this is the Guild Hall," Atlas said, chuckling some when he saw Natsu's mouth hanging open and his eyes nearly bugging out of their sockets.

"It's a castle!" Natsu cheered excitedly. Atlas released a laugh and nodded.

"It very well could be. Now come, we should go inside." Atlas opened the door and Natsu ducked behind his uncle at the sight of mostly adult men inside. A few younger children were walking about as well but the men were what made Natsu hide, still remembering the ones who'd initially kidnapped him so many years ago and those who'd only recently attacked Igneel and Atlas. Of the children, he could see a dark-haired boy with the Guild's emblem marked on his upper right chest and for some reason, he was walking around in nothing more than his blue underpants. A young girl with brown hair tied up in a ponytail wearing an orange dress was sitting on top of the table, watching as two girls, a redhead and another with white hair, were grabbing at each other's hair and clothes and yelling at each other. The redhead was dressed in silvery armor and the white-haired girl was dressed in a dark tank top that showed off her navel, a pair of matching shorts and high boots that were black. Not far off from the fighting girls was a young boy in a blue suit with a red bowtie who was watching the girls nervously and another white-haired girl in a pink dress who was smiling so broadly, her eyes were closed.

"Can we help you?" Natsu turned to see an older man with white hair and a matching moustache wearing an orange-and-purple-striped suit with a matching hat that split into two almost taking on the appearance of antennae. In his hand was a long staff with a pink smiley face at the top.

"We're looking for the Master of this Guild," Atlas said.

"You're looking at him. The name's Makarov Dreyar. New recruits?" Atlas nodded.

"My name is Atlas Flame and this is my nephew, Natsu Dragneel." Natsu bowed his head politely to the Master.

"Nice to meet you two. If you're joining you'll need emblems. I have the stamp in my office."

"If I may, Master, I'd like to discuss a few things with you about mine and Natsu's magic." The Master nodded and gestured for Atlas to follow him.

"Natsu, why don't you go say hello to the children over there and try making a new friend?" The boy nodded and did as told.  
The girls' fighting was getting louder and some of the adults were looking over in concern.

"Maybe I should break them up?" Natsu murmured to himself. "After all, they could seriously hurt each other." As he neared the girls, a hand came out and grabbed his shoulder, Reaching for his sword, Natsu turned to see the dark-haired boy looking at him curiously.

"Where were you going?" he asked.

"To break those two up," Natsu said, gesturing towards the girls. The boy shook his head.

"Trust me, you don't want to do that. Erza and Mira fight like this all the time. When bones start breaking and teeth go flying, then you can get worried. Why don't you sit down here with me?" Natsu sat down by the boy.

"I'm Gray by the way," the dark-haired boy said, extending his hand to Natsu. "Gray Fullbuster."

"Natsu Dragneel," Natsu said as he shook Gray's hand before setting his sword on the table. He noticed Gray had a plate of browned chicken and Natsu's stomach gave a tiny growl. "Sorry to ask but…" Gray pushed his plate between himself and Natsu.

"Go ahead. I can never finish the plate anyway," Gray said with a smile. Natsu smiled back and the two began to eat.

"So where'd you get that sword?" Natsu patted the sheath tenderly.

"My dad had it made for me. He was actually a dragon." Gray's jaw dropped.

"No way!"

"Yes he was!" Natsu said excitedly.

"What was it like?!" Gray asked, practically trembling with excitement. Atlas shut the door securely behind him as Makarov took a seat on his desk.

"Now then. You wanted to explain yours and Natsu's magic?" Atlas nodded as he took a seat.

"Before that sir, there is something you'll need to know. I'm not human by birth. In fact, I'm really a Fire Dragon, the last subordinate of Igneel, King of the Fire Dragons." Makarov's eyes widened.

"What?"

"It's a complicated story sir. Igneel had to leave in order to protect Natsu from a creature who's name even dragons fear to speak. Thus, Natsu, the Prince of the Fire Dragons, has been left in my care until his father returns. Makarov nodded.

"And your magic?"

"As you can see, I use a kind of Transformation magic. But I also can use Fire magic and Hellfire Magic. Natsu though is another story. He is able to use Fire Dragon Slayer magic." Makarov's eyes widened again and Atlas could smell a different kind of surprise from the old man.

"I take it…you know of this magic on a more personal level?"

"Yes. But not Fire Dragon…My grandson, Laxus, can use Lightning Dragon Slayer magic." Atlas' eyes widened.

"Lightning Dragon Slayer?" he thought to himself. 'Does this boy have some connection to…her?'

"That's very interesting," Atlas voiced. The Master nodded.

"Two dragon slayers and a dragon, if I didn't know better I'd say the Guild's name should be changed to something involving Dragons." Atlas threw his head back and laughed as the Master grabbed a stamp from his desk. Atlas rolled up his sleeve to reveal his bicep and let the Master imprint the emblem on his skin. It tingled some but it wasn't painful or even bothersome.

"Now then, let's get that nephew of yours."

"Also…Natsu isn't just a dragon slayer," Atlas pointed out as the Master hopped down from his desk and headed for the door and Atlas rolled his sleeve down.

"Igneel used Blood Fusion on the boy some time ago. Before that, he was learning at an incredibly slow pace but now, he's probably one of the strongest Dragon Slayers I've seen that are his age." Makarov was silent.

'All these surprises are going to give me a heart attack!' Makarov thought to himself.

"I see. So the boy's a dragon hybrid?" Atlas nodded and hummed his agreement.

"And there are other slayers?"

"As far as I know…only your grandson was the one no one knew about. Aside from him and Natsu…there's probably…four others? Yes, four." Atlas said with a nod as he headed to the door and back towards where Natsu was sitting. Natsu began telling about Igneel, how he'd learned to read and write from the dragon, how he'd been kidnapped and how he began to learn Dragon Slayer Magic from Atlas. Gray looked almost ready to pass out when he learned Atlas was a dragon as well. As Natsu was speaking, neither boy noticed the red-haired girl, Erza, walking up towards them, eyes locked on the hilt of Natsu's sword. She reached forward and wrapped her hand around the hilt. She jerked her arm back, bumping Natsu's arm with it.

"Hey!" Before Erza could do anything, the sword vibrated in her hand before a shower of sparks burst from the point where the blade and hilt connected, a few landing on Erza's sleeve and catching it on fire and the girl screamed.

"Erza!" Gray yelled in concern. Natsu reached forward and ripped the sleeve off at the shoulder and stuffed the entire thing in his mouth. Everyone in the guild was watching him with widened eyes as he swallowed the fire and snatched his sword away from a stunned Erza.

"Let that be a lesson, girlie; don't touch my stuff again, got it? At least not without my permission." Natsu put the sword back on his belt and looked around at the stunned looks everyone was giving him. He bit his lip a little.

"What the heck was that?" asked another boy. This one was a teenager with midnight-black hair and onyx-black eyes.

"That was simply Dragon Slayer Magic that I taught Natsu myself." Atlas said as he and Master Makarov reappeared at the top of the stairs.

"There's a number of types of Slayer Magic; Air, fire, earth to name a few. But Natsu works best with fire, allowing him to use fire as an attack and to eat fire when the situation requires it. Understand?"

"That's so cool!" Gray cheered, practically jumping in his seat. Natsu looked towards him, surprised.

"You think so?" Gray nodded vigorously.

"Yea! Dude, you can eat fire! Really real fire! And you act like it's nothing at all! That's so cool!" Natsu's face went redder than his hair as he reached up the rub and the back of his neck nervously.

"It's not nearly as cool as what Uncle Atlas can do," he said quietly.

"No way dude! That was the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Natsu smiled bashfully as Atlas smiled at his nephew gently.  
The guild doors opened with a creak and in stepped a teenage boy with spikey blonde hair and dark grey-blue eyes wearing a black long-sleeved shirt under a yellow t-shirt, a pair of dark jeans and combat boots. He had a pair of headphones on that had a spike on each side and over his right eye was a lightning-bolt-shaped scar. He had a traveling pack slung over his shoulder and marched right up to Makarov and handed him a piece of paper.

"How did it go, Laxus?" the old man asked.

"Fine. Nothing too major," the boy reported before he dropped his pack at the end of the table where Natsu and Grey were sitting at and sat down. Natsu looked down the table and the boy looked Atlas over.

"New member?" he asked, extending his hand.

"Laxus Dreyar, I'm the Master's grandson."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Atlas Flame. And down the table there is my adoptive nephew, Natsu Dragneel." Laxus glanced down the table and Natsu waved. Laxus waved back.

"Nice to see this place filling up again. And nice to meet the both of you." He said with a smile.

* * *

Annie: That's the rewriting chapter of chapter four. I added a couple of things here and there to make it a little bit better.

Just2protect: I can't wait to start chapter five.

Natsu: Oi, Why have this shit happen?!

Both me and Just2protect: THAT'S IT, FLAME HEAD FIRE BREATH! DEATH DRAGON ROAR!

Natsu: *X.X*

Both again: Ja Ne! ^-^


	5. Chapter 5

Annie: Hey, everyone. This is a rewriting version of chapter four. Hey, Just2protect!

Just2protect: Nani, Ani? (What, Annie?)

Annie: Do you think you can explain the value of the jewels in US dollars?

Just2protect: Sure. 100 Jewel is equivalent to 1 US dollar while 1,000 jewels is equivalent to 10 US Dollar.

Annie: But what is 48,000,000,000 jewels in US dollars?

Just2protect: Hmm. 1,000 jewels is 100 US dollars and this number as 9 0's in it. I believe it's 1,000,000 US dollars if it was 1,000,000,000 jewels. With the 48 in front of it, I believe it's 48,000,000 US dollars.

Annie: Think the amount of jewels for the job we got for Atlas be changed for that amount?

Just2protect: I believe so. Why?

Annie: Babies are a lot of money and I think that amount would be prefect.

Just2protect: O...K.

Annie: Enjoy. ^-^

* * *

4 months later...

"Atlas…wake up." Natsu whined as he shook the massive man in bed.

"I want to go to the Guild Hall. Cana's cards said something important was coming today. What if its Igneel?" Atlas rolled over in bed with a groan.

"Natsu, believe me, if your father were coming back, both you and I would know of it already. Now please, let a sleeping dragon lie." Natsu pouted and sat down on the edge of Atlas' bed. "If you want to go so badly, you can go on your own, right?" Natsu perked up and nodded quickly, bouncing on his spot on the bed.

"Then go right ahead." Natsu practically leapt off of Atlas' bed, threw his clothes, sword and shield on and bolted out of the tiny cottage Atlas had been able to buy after his first job. As Natsu raced down the streets, he could hardly believe that only a few months ago, he would've been scared stiff of going to the Hall on his own. But now, he had friends within the younger generation of members. Cana, the brunette girl who'd been watching Erza and Mira fight when he'd first arrived, loved to show off her card magic by telling the future with it. Laxus and Gray made great friends to hang out with, as did Laxus' friend and teammate, Freed Justine, who used rune magic. Freed had long green hair that almost had Natsu mistaking him for a girl the first time he saw him and constantly wore red clothes and a sword on his hip. Erza hadn't tried stealing Natsu's sword since then but because he didn't join her team when she offered, she'd always given him a dirty look whenever they met eyes that made him want to duck and hide behind Laxus, although he never did. Mira had seen the little encounter between Erza and Natsu and tried to recruit the Slayer onto her team, only to be rejected as well. At that point, Natsu decided he didn't like girls too much, although Mira's younger sister, Lisanna, always seemed to try staying as close to him as possible with her sister keeping her away from anyone on "Team Erza" as the she-devil called anyone not on her team. Natsu rounded a corner and barreled right into someone's leg, landing back on the street on his butt.

"Natsu!" Freed said with surprise as the boy landed, letting out a whoosh of air as he hit the pavement.

"You alright?" Laxus said, offering a hand to the boy, who shrugged and pushed himself up.

"Yea. I just gotta watch where I'm going is all." Natsu explained, dusting off his pants.

"At any rate, why were you running?" Freed asked.

"And where's Atlas? Isn't he normally with you?"

"He normally is, but today he wanted to sleep in so he said I could head to the Hall on my own." Natsu explained as the three headed down the road, Natsu having to jog to keep up with Laxus and Freed's longer legs.

"Again, why are you so excited to get to the Hall today?" Laxus asked with a smirk.

"Because Cana said something big was coming to Fairy Tail soon. So I figured it might be my dad! And if it is him, I don't wanna miss him," Natsu explained. Laxus nodded, understanding.

"Anyway, what were you guys talking about when I came in?"

"Just a few people that have some rumors circulating around them." Freed explained.

"Why?" Natsu asked.

"One is a boy who uses Seith Magic." Laxus explained.

"The other is a girl who can turn people to stone by looking at her." Natsu's eyes widened.

"Freed thought they might make good additions to our team." Freed nodded.

"Both are powerful wizards for being only a bit younger than Laxus and myself. So I thought before our next job, he and I go try to recruit them to join Fairy Tail." Natsu nodded.

"But…even if you get them on your team…we can still hang out, right? I mean…you guys, the new wizards, Gray and me…right?" Laxus nodded with a smile as Freed mussed Natsu's hair in a friendly manner.

"As if we could ever replace you and Gray." Freed said with a smile as Natsu laughed at the treatment before covering his head.

"Leave my hair alone!" The Dragon Prince said with a chuckle as Laxus grabbed him by the shield strapped to his back, stopping from him from being run over by a group of women running by with potted plants. At that point, Natsu noticed how some of the townspeople were hanging colored flags from roofs and wrapping ribbons around the streetlamps.

"What's going on with everyone?" Natsu asked.

"They're preparing for the Harvest Festival." Freed explained.

"It's an annual event in which Fairy Tail is highly involved. There's games, contests and even a parade the Fairy Tail hosts that draw hundreds of people from all over the country."

"A parade?"

"Yea. Almost everyone in Fairy Tail gets involved one way or another," Laxus explained as they came up to the Guild Hall entrance.

"Can't you see what exactly is coming?" Gray asked as the three came inside. Cana was looking over her cards, biting on her bottom lip and shifting in her seat, trying to make sense of what she was looking at.

"No. I'm just getting an idea. The cards don't provide exact details. Heck, it might not even show up today. All I know is that the cards said it was coming soon. It could mean today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, whatever! All I know is that it will bring a great amount of pain but once that pain is gone, there will be an overwhelming happiness!"

"What's going on over here?" Laxus asked as the trio neared. Natsu plopped down beside Gray as Laxus leaned over the two to see Cana's card spread.

"She's trying to see if there's anything she missed in her reading yesterday, but so far nothing new." Gray reported.

"That's because card fortune-telling isn't supposed to give an exact date and time. It's supposed to give vague details so anything can be attributed to it. For example, if you tried driving a Magic Mobile and got in an accident and broke a bone, that could be the pain. But the happiness could be that you meet your Soul Mate while in the hospital." Cana said pointedly.

"She has a point," Laxus said with a shrug. Cana nodded.

"Hey, why don't you try telling my fortune? I'm kinda curious if this happiness thing is in my future." Natsu asked. Cana beamed and gathered her cards, shuffling them as she'd learned and laying them out in the proper order. She flipped them over one by one and hummed with each card before moving onto the next one.

"I see…Hmm…Interesting."

"What? What's interesting?" Natsu asked.

"Well…If I'm reading this right…It says you'll be in conflict soon…but then you'll be reunited with someone very precious to you. The next card says you'll be tested but the rewards will be great. And the last one says you'll rise above those who oppose you. So…I guess you have a fight with someone but you two make up later…As for the testing…maybe a test of trust or a test of will or even a test of strength in order to rise above your enemies?"

"Of course I'm gonna fight someone! I'm gonna beat the thing Igneel and Uncle Atlas are afraid of! And you said reunited?" Cana nodded and Natsu let out a whoop of joy.

"Alright! Igneel's coming home!"

"If that's the case, then what opponent will you overcome in the end, oh great fortune-telling one?" Laxus asked sarcastically. Natsu smirked and jumped up on the table.

"I'm gonna be the strongest in the whole Guild! Even stronger than you!" Natsu yelled, jabbing Laxus in the chest. The teen rubbed the spot through his t-shirt as he chuckled.

"We'll see about that, squirt." Laxus teased as he grabbed Natsu by the back of his shirt and plopped him back onto the bench.

"Oh I'll do it! I'm all fired up now!" Natsu cheered. Freed chuckled.

"I look forward to seeing how this plays out." The green-haired mage said with a smirk.

"Shut up," Laxus said as he pulled his headphones hours later and Natsu sighed as he poked at the meal he'd ordered. For some reason, his appetite had withered the moment Atlas had set it in front of him. Laxus ate his dinner without much trouble but kept an eye on Natsu as he finished his meal.

"What's wrong?" Laxus asked. Natsu shrugged.

"Just a feeling I've got. Something doesn't smell right around here…" Laxus paused a moment and sniffed the air. He didn't smell anything out of place.

"I don't smell anything…" he said. Freed moved over and pressed a hand to Natsu's forehead. Natsu was naturally warmer than a human due to his fire, much like how Laxus' lightning tended to raise his body temperature as well. The mage felt Laxus' forehead to compare.

"It doesn't feel like you have a temperature, so I don't think you're catching a cold…Perhaps you're smelling the perfume of a woman passing by the Guild?" Freed suggested. Natsu shrugged.

"It does kinda smell like a person. But I don't recognize the scent at all." Laxus stood up from his seat.

"Is something wrong?" Freed asked. The blonde smirked.

"Dad's coming home." Laxus said, his smirk growing until it almost looked like his face would split in half.

"Who?" Natsu asked. Laxus' grin relaxed some.

"My dad, Ivan. He's been on a job for a while now and I bet you're smelling him coming home."

"But if he's your dad…Why does his scent make my stomach turn?"

"If I recall correctly, the job was to eliminate a dark guild that was terrorizing a farming village, wasn't it?" Freed asked. Laxus nodded.

"You probably smell the wizards Mr. Ivan defeated." Natsu shrugged.

"Maybe…" Natsu muttered before the Guild doors opened. Natsu snapped around to see a dark-skinned man with dark hair and beard dressed in a dark shirt and matching slacks. Over his shoulder was slung a travel pack. The smell that had Natsu's stomach churning was stronger now and he had to swallow down the taste of bile as it came up his throat. Atlas noticed his nephew's discomfort and stepped in front of the boy, catching the attention of the man as he walked past. Laxus smiled at his father who stopped near the table.

"Laxus, you're looking well," Ivan said. Laxus nodded.

"You as well Freed."

"Thank you sir. You're looking well yourself?"

"How was the job?" Laxus asked.

"So far, so good. I'm all, but ready to finish them. I had to work my way into the ranks and make sure there were no branches in other cities. So now, I just need to recruit some help," Ivan said, his dark eyes coming to rest on Natsu and an almost-nude Gray.

"Gray, where are your clothes?" Gray didn't move to react, only stiffening and looking away.

"And who is this young man?" Ivan asked, looking down at Natsu.

"This is Natsu Dragneel, " Laxus said. "He and his uncle, Atlas Flame here, are new members." Ivan looked to Atlas and smiled as he extended his hand.

"An honor to meet the Master's son." Atlas said as he shook Ivan's hand. Atlas saw Ivan looking at Natsu as Natsu hides behind Atlas more as the man was making Natsu scared and afraid at the same time. Atlas saw this and spook on Natsu's behalf.

"Don't worry about my nephew, he's just a little nervous around men. Bad history with them when he was still with his father and I before his father had to leave to do something." Atlas said as Ivan nods his head, but missed the look that Freed, Laxus and Gray had on their faces as they were thinking what could of happened to Natsu while Natsu was sad about his father leaving him and Atlas.

"And I to meet our newest members." Ivan said. "If I may ask, what kind of magic do you two happen to use?" Atlas smiled.

"I use Hellfire Magic and transformation magic. In actuality, I'm a dragon. Natsu uses Fire Dragon Slayer Magic." Atlas said. Ivan smirked as an eyebrow raised.

"What a coincidence." Ivan said.

"I was hoping to recruit a few Fire Wizards for this job. Would you and Natsu be willing to help me out?"

"I'm afraid I'm not comfortable with Natsu going on jobs just yet. Even if I'm there." Atlas said.

"But I'll happily accompany you."

"Dad?!" Laxus asked.

"Freed and I can help you out too."

"I know you can, but I'd prefer you stay here. I'm afraid I need fire mages for this job," Ivan said. Laxus nodded and sat down. Natsu noticed his fist clenching where they couldn't be seen by Ivan.

"I'll help ya out Ivan," said another Guild member as he walked up. He had somewhat longer blue hair and Natsu never saw him without stubble.

"Thank you Macao," Ivan said. "But won't your wife need you at home? If I have the time correct, she gave birth to a child not too long ago, didn't she?"

"Yea, our little boy, Romeo," Macao said. "But to raise the kid, she knows I'd need a job or two every now and again. So how much this job pay?"

"The payment will be forty-eight trillion jewels which we are able to be split three ways at a grand total sixteen trillion jewels each."

" Sixteen trillion each?! If that's the case, I can retire." Macao said with a broad grin. Atlas chuckled.

"Perhaps for six years at most." Atlas pointed out before the two broke into chuckles again.

"Wonderful. I'll inform the Master. We'll leave tomorrow morning." Atlas and Macao nodded. Ivan turned and headed towards Makarov's office while Macao left the hall to tell his wife and prepare. Atlas mussed Natsu's hair tenderly.

"Hear that Natsu?" Atlas said.

"My first job working with others. Perhaps you should form a team of your own?" Laxus smiled and clapped Natsu on the shoulder.

"Atlas, trust me. Once Natsu's old enough, he's joining the Thunder Legion. Gray too." Laxus assured. Atlas threw his head back and released a laugh.

"In that case, Laxus. Would you mind looking after Natsu until I return? I know he's capable of caring for himself, but I'd prefer he stay with someone. And neither of us trust anyone in this Guild more than you." Laxus' eyes widened.

"Seriously?" Laxus asked. Atlas nodded.

"In that case, I don't mind at all. What do you think Natsu?" Laxus asked, looking at the boy. Natsu nodded.

"I'm looking forward to it!" Atlas smiled and mussed his nephew's hair some.

"In that case, I'll head back to the house to pack. Laxus, he'll be in your care come morning."

"Yes sir," Laxus said with a grin. With that, Atlas left the Hall, Natsu trailing behind him, pulling his hair back into its usual ponytail. That night, Natsu could hardly sleep. He wasn't nervous about staying with Laxus. More, he was excited. This would be his first time sleeping not only in a new place, but without Atlas or his father around since he'd been kidnapped as a child. He really liked being with Laxus and Freed and had wanted to spend more time with them for a while. To say he was excited would be an understatement. He tossed and turned all night, but he could never lay still long enough to actually fall asleep. And before he even knew it, morning had come. Natsu knew that Atlas wouldn't be awake for a little while so instead of staying in bed, he began to pack his bag with clothes, his sword, the crown, and a couple books Atlas had bought for him recently that were meant to help Natsu practice his handwriting and spelling. Once he finished, he pulled everything back out, set them all out on his bed and carefully repacked. He repeated this cycle, adding a shirt or a pair of pants here and there, until Atlas knocked on his door.

"Ready to go?" Atlas asked as he poked his head in. Natsu nodded, slung his pack on and wrapped Igneel's scarf around his neck.

"Ready!" Natsu cheered as he headed for the door. Atlas put a hand on his head and the boy looked up at him.

"You're ready to walk around the Guild in your pajamas?" Atlas asked. Natsu looked down at his sleeping shorts and chuckled.

"Oh yea, right. I'll get dressed. One second." Natsu ducked back into his room and quickly changed into a black vest, a pair of black pants and sandals before putting his pack back on, tying his hair back and all but racing to the Guild Hall. Atlas shook his head and chuckled a little as he attempted to keep up with his nephew. The boy skidded to a stop outside the Guild Hall entrance and Atlas had to bend over to catch his breath for a moment.

"Where do kids get so much energy so early in the morning?" he panted as he straightened up. Natsu shrugged.

"Maybe you're just getting old." Atlas threw his head back and laughed before mussing with Natsu's hair again.

"Perhaps I am." he admitted.  
"Leave my hair alone." Natsu groaned as he pulled out the tie, combed it a bit with his fingers and tied it again. Atlas couldn't help another chuckle.

"What's so funny over here?" Laxus asked as he and Freed came around the corner.  
"My hair apparently." Natsu muttered. Laxus smiled a little and stepped forward so he could pull Natsu into his side.

"Aren't you supposed to be headed to the station at this point, Atlas?" Laxus asked.

"Yes, just wanted to make sure Natsu got to the Guild safely." Atlas said with a smile.

"If anything comes up, don't hesitate to call me."

"Don't worry Atlas. He couldn't be in better hands." Freed said as he mussed Natsu's hair again.

"What is it with everyone and messing up my hair?!" Natsu snapped as he shooed Freed's hand away and retied his hair again.

"This is the third time today!"

"Sorry Natsu, I just can't help it," Freed chuckled. Natsu covered the top of his head with his hands, earning him a chuckle from Laxus.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. On another note, why are you two here so early?" Atlas asked. Freed pulled a few flyers from his jacket and handed them over.

"We were thinking of doing a job around town to keep Natsu occupied today. If there's anything you don't approve of…"

"No, this seems fine," Atlas said, looking over the flyers before returning them.

"If that's everything, I'll be headed off then." Atlas turned and headed off.

"Come home safe, Uncle Atlas!" Natsu called. Atlas waved before turning a corner and leaving Natsu's sight.

"Don't worry about him, he's got my dad and Macao with him," Laxus assured.

"I'm not worried." Natsu said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Uncle Atlas is a dragon. If things get tough he can just transform." Freed laughed and went to muss Natsu's hair again, but instead patted him gently.

"Alright. So Natsu, let's leave your pack at the Hall so we don't have to worry about it, alright?" Laxus suggested. Natsu nodded and shrugged off his pack, setting it just inside the door before he, Laxus and Freed headed off.

"So what's the job?" Natsu asked. Freed looked the papers over and the three stopped for a moment.

"Let's see…" Freed mused as he read the paper quickly.

"There's a woodcarver on the edge of town who wants some large trees cut down. He says it might take a few days to get it finished entirely. But he's promised compensation if that does happen." Laxus nodded.

"What do you think Natsu? Think it'll tire you out enough?"

"Sounds like fun!" Natsu cheered.

"So how are we doing this?" Natsu asked as he looked up and down the tree they were supposed to cut down.

"Well first we'll have to cut off the branches at the top." Freed said, stepping forward and pulling out his sword.

"If not, they could cause harm to one of us while we work." Laxus nodded.

"So Natsu and I can climb up and cut the branches off," Laxus offered.

"Then you use your enchantments to cut it up properly?" Freed nodded.

"I won't let you down," he assured. Laxus nodded and turned to Natsu.

"Need any help getting up there?" Laxus asked. Natsu shook his head and showed his fingernails.

"I should be able to climb like this," he said as he pulled off his cloak and handed it to Freed.

"Don't let anything happen to that, please." Freed nodded and Laxus rolled his neck before his lightning enveloped his entire body and he shot up into the branches, finding one near the top that could support his weight before the lightning vanished and he began snapping off branches, dropping them down to move on to another. Natsu leapt onto the tree and his fingernails dug into the bark as he pulled himself up the trunk and climbed until the trunk thinned and it almost bent at his weight. At that point he began to snap off branches like Laxus and dropping them down. Freed set Natsu's cloak and his own jacket to the side and gathered the branches into bundles as they fell, tying them together and dragging them to the woodcarver's woodpile.  
It was nearing lunch when the client, a rather large-built man with skin marked with small burn and cut scars, dark hair and bright, cheerful eyes, emerged from his home and called the boys in for something to eat. Laxus and Natsu had managed to take off the smaller branches on the four trees the man wanted taken down and were beginning to work together on the larger branches with a saw. The client gave each of the boys a plate of sandwiches and a tall glass of water and after they'd eaten, told them to relax for a bit before going back to work. Natsu watched the man go over to a large oven with a long black rod sticking out with a bright orange bulb on the end. The man blew into the end a little before pulling out the rod and taking out a tiny hammer and tapping the orange bulb. Leaving Laxus' side, Natsu moved to the man's side and looked at the bulb.

"What's that?" he asked. The man chuckled warmly.

"I'm hoping to fashion it into a horse for a mobile my wife wants. We're expecting our firstborn."

"Congratulations." Natsu said, watching the man work.

"I didn't know you could make animals out of glass…" The man chuckled again and set the rod down for a moment to look Natsu in the face.

"Let me ask you this young man, what is your favorite animal?"

"My name's Natsu, and I love dragons!" The man nodded, stood and moved to a shelf off to the side, coming back with something in his fist. He opened up his massive fingers to reveal four small dragons; red, yellow, dark grey and white. Each had their own design and twisting tails. The red one had a horn on the nose and pointing off the back of the head. The dark grey one had a more rounded head than the others and no horns. The white one had a design down the back from the two horns on the head that almost looked like hair. The gold one had long whiskers and a mane around the head.

"And watch this," the client set the dragons off and began twisting the tails together one by one. When he was done, all four of the dragons had interlocked their claws and the tips of their noses were coming together to a point as if they were kissing. Natsu's eyes almost bugged out of his head at the sight.

"These were among my first attempts at making figurines of glass. I told myself I wouldn't give them to anyone unless it felt right." With that, he pressed the cool dragons into Natsu's hand. Natsu looked from the dragons to the craftsman with wide eyes before he licked his lips and stood up straight.

"Thank you sir…But…I can't take these. I mean, don't get me wrong, I want them…but I'm a wizard. I'd hate for anything to happen to them. They're so beautifully made…" The craftsman smirked.

"I'm also a wizard my boy. My magic is that I can make fragile things unbreakable. So you could throw these things against a wall or even step on them, smash a hammer on them, they'll never break." Natsu's eyes widened.

"I insist you take them." Natsu nodded.

"Thank you sir," he said before walking back to Laxus and letting the man return to his work. Laxus glanced over Natsu's shoulder at the figurines and smirked.

"Are they anything like the real thing?" Laxus asked. Natsu carefully pulled the red one from the bunch and set the others on his lap.

"This kinda looks like Igneel…The others…Well…The only dragons I ever met were Igneel and Uncle Atlas…so I can't say." Laxus nodded and went back to his sandwich. Natsu picked up the yellow one and pressed it into his arm. Laxus gave Natsu a look as glanced at the dragon.

"Here. I want you to have this one."

"Are you sure?" Natsu nodded.

"If we get more Dragon Slayers in the Guild and they become my friends too, maybe I can give them the other two. But this one seems to suit you." Laxus smiled and picked up the miniature dragon.

"Thanks Natsu." The group finished their meal and went back outside to the trees.

"I'm thinking…we could probably finish this quicker if Freed would use his magic to just get it all chopped up then we stack it all and we're done." Freed nodded. Natsu agreed and Freed pulled out his sword. The runes mage was quick with his work, and the end result was four trees turning into neat, nicely cut logs ready for a fire or carving. The boys spent the afternoon stacking the trees by the wall of the house and when the sun began to set, the work was done. The three went back to Laxus' house where Freed left the two to themselves. Laxus was quick to warm up some leftovers and serve up some dinner for them. The two were quick to eat through a few helpings of dinner before Natsu sat back in his seat.

"That's the healthiest appetite I've seen in a while," Laxus joked before taking another bite of his dinner.

"Yea. My magic's pretty powerful so I get really hungry," Natsu explained.

"Igneel said being a Dragon Slayer would cause a big appetite so…" Natsu shrugged. Laxus hummed thoughtfully.

"That explains that." Natsu looked up but the elder took another bite of his dinner.

"Well…that client sure was nice," Natsu said.

"Yea. Some will be like that, especially if they live in or near Magnolia. Fairy Tail may cause a bit of trouble, but they know we don't mean any real harm by it. We just really get into whatever fights come up against us." Laxus explained. Natsu nodded.

"Still…I feel we should do something for him," Natsu said as he pulled the three little glass dragons from his pocket and set them on the table. Laxus pulled his out and set it by the red one. Laxus took another bite and tapped the toe of his boot on the floor.

"Well…he said he was having a baby soon. Want to try making something for the baby so he doesn't have to?" Natsu's face brightened with a smile.

"Like a…oh what is it? Crap! Um…it's like a horse…goes back and forth…"

"A rocking horse?" Laxus suggested.

"Yea! That's it! What if we made one for the baby?"

"Okay. Tomorrow we can try to find some trees we can cut down to start carving it…That sound good?" Natsu nodded.

"Alright then. I'll clean up the dishes. The bathroom is down the hall and on the right if you want to take a bath before bed." Natsu nodded and ran off as Laxus washed the dinner dishes in the sink and put them away.  
Natsu made his way down the hall but when he did, he saw two doors on the right side. He didn't know if Laxus meant the closer one or the further one. Going with his gut, Natsu opened the closest door and looked into the dark room that suddenly made him almost taste his dinner again. He covered his mouth and nose and fumbled for the light switch. Once the lights came on, Natsu could see a long silver table in front of him with several leather straps and buckles secured to the sides. He could smell metal and copper and salt water, even if the latter two were old. Natsu cautiously stepped inside and looked over at a far wall that was covered in odd black sheets with odd deep blue markings. He moved over to the wall and flipped another switch. Lights came on behind the paper and the blue markings turned white. Natsu could make out bones that Igneel had once drawn to teach him about human anatomy. But these bones were for a small child. The last one was of a skull with some odd lightning-bolt-shape right behind the right eye.

"What is this?" Natsu breathed before turning off the lights and closing the door behind him to try the next room, which ended up being the bathroom. Through his bath and even until he got into bed, Natsu couldn't stop thinking about what he'd seen in that one room. The skull he'd seen had a lightning-bolt-shaped…thing…inside it. Laxus had a lightning-bolt-shaped scar over his right eye. Even Natsu knew it didn't take a genius to figure out that Laxus had likely been the little boy in the odd pictures. But what was inside his skull, Natsu was half-dying to know. After roughly an hour of not being able to sleep, Natsu kicked the bed sheets off and made his way to Laxus' room. The elder teen was passed out on his bed, headphones still on and he hadn't even changed out of his clothes from earlier.

"Laxus?" The teen grunted in response, still mostly asleep. Natsu slowly crept in.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," the teen yawned as he turned over in his bed, his headphones slipping off his head.

"Why do you have a scar?"

"Got cut," Laxus grunted as Natsu came over and pulled the headphones away from Laxus and set them on the floor by the bed.

"How?"

"Lacrima," Laxus yawned.

"Dad wanted a tougher kid…Dragon lacrima makes tough kids." Natsu's eyes widened as Laxus rolled over again.

"Go back to sleep pipsqueak." Natsu nodded and quickly went back to the guest room, tucking himself into the covers again. Natsu wasn't able to sleep right away. Igneel had performed Blood Fusion on him only to save his life. But Ivan just wanted a tough kid, so he put a lacrima in his own son's head, right behind his eye? Natsu remembered once when Igneel was explaining how lacrima worked. A dragon lacrima needed either dragon's blood or hair or even crushed scales to have any power. But they were extremely dangerous and if something went wrong, they could easily kill a full-grown man, never mind a child. Soon enough, his eyes drifted shut and he fell asleep, dreaming of the massive dark-skinned man leaning over him with a scalpel. But just before he woke up, the scalpel changed into a clawed hand and Ivan's laughing face turned into a rounded head. Black scales replaced brown skin, blue marking swirling over the body and empty white eyes. The stench of something evil and heartless were the last thing he registered before he woke up. Natsu looked around the crowded city excitedly, weaving between people as he took in all the sights of the Harvest Festival. Laxus was having trouble keeping up with him as the elder struggled through the crowd, having to apologize to people as he moved and to girls who tried stopping him. He was the grandson of Master Makarov and what he did reflected his grandfather, and the whole of Fairy Tail. A few times he lost sight of Natsu in the crowd, only to catch sight of the head of pink-red hair again a few feet away. Laxus was seriously beginning to weight the pros and cons of tying a rope around Natsu's waist and attaching it to his own pants or simply tying it around his wrist. Natsu was having the time of his life. Never before had he seen such an event. The scents of the food was so thick he could practically taste them on his tongue, the sound of people's voices almost overloaded his ears, and the bright lights nearly blinded him. He didn't know how Laxus had managed to deal with it for years, but he figured if Laxus could, he could too. Suddenly, a hand grabbed his arm and yanked him into Laxus' side.

"Geez Natsu, how am I supposed to keep an eye on you when you run off like that?" the elder chastised.

"Sorry. I got excited." Natsu said, twisting his toes into the dust on the road. Laxus sighed.

"Just stay close. Freed's probably waiting for us near the parade route. You run off like that again, I'll tie you to me, got it?" Natsu nodded and Laxus let go of his arm. Natsu brushed at the wrinkles left in the fabric before he and Laxus headed towards the road where the Fantasia parade, apparently the biggest event of the Festival, would be happening later. The two eventually found Freed leaning against a wall where already a few people were beginning to gather, families on blankets or chairs they'd brought.

"There you two are." the rune mage greeted. Laxus leaned against the wall and Natsu took a seat between the teens.

"So we're just gonna stay here until the parade starts?" Natsu asked. Laxus nodded.

"Otherwise the crowd will be too thick to get through." the blonde said. "Aren't you glad I made you eat dinner before we came here?" Natsu nodded and leaned back against the wall.

"So Laxus, if you don't mind my asking, how goes yours and Natsu's little project?" Freed asked. Laxus smirked. A couple of weeks had passed since the woodcarver job and since then, Laxus and Natsu had been working hard on making a rocking horse for the client's coming baby. They'd managed to find a well-sized tree on one of the many plots of land Laxus' father had bought and had chopped it down and into pieces they could start fashioning into the toy.

"It's going pretty well. We just finished putting it together and so we should be ready to paint it tomorrow, deliver it the day after, right buddy?" Natsu nodded with a bright smile. Over the next couple of hours, Laxus, Natsu and Freed lost themselves in conversation about anything and everything that came into their minds. When the parade began, Natsu was completely enraptured by the sights that came with it. All the floats, the performances and even the costumes the other members wore had his utmost attention. And finally the finale came, a massive float where Gramps was at the top in the strangest costume Natsu had yet to see. A red cap with cat ears and a blue paw print on the forehead, matching fingerless gloves, a purple-striped shirt under a tan vest, green pants and massive red clown shoes had Natsu turning his head to the side in confusion. Laxus tapped his shoulder and motioned for him to stand up. Natsu did as instructed and the elder lifted the boy onto his shoulders.

"Remember the sign I showed you?" Laxus asked. Natsu nodded.

"Now's the time for it, alright?" The two of them raised their right hand, curling all but their index fingers and thumbs into their palms. One by one, the members who'd participated in the parade and even those scattered among the cheering crowd copied the signal until Gramps raised it as well. The crowd burst into a cheers on a level of sound that made Laxus wince and Natsu have to plug his ears with his fingers and cover them as best as he could with his hands, although it did very little to block out the sound. Once the cheers were done, the crowd began to disperse. Laxus set Natsu back down on the street and the three waited until most of the crowd had left before Laxus and Natsu said their good-byes to Freed and headed back towards Laxus' house. Laxus knew it was getting late and he was starting to feel a little tired. Then he felt Natsu's head hit his own back and looked behind him at the exhausted boy and smirked.

"Tired?" he asked. Natsu nodded. Laxus nodded and bent down in front of Natsu. The boy looked at him confused.

"Climb on. I'll carry you home." Natsu nodded and climbed onto Laxus' back with a yawn, wrapping his arms around Laxus' neck and snuggling into the teen's warm back. Laxus smiled and hoisted Natsu a little higher on his back before moving towards his home again. On the way, he almost ran into a small girl in a green dress with butterfly wings on her back. She had brown hair and wore glasses over dark brown eyes.

"Sorry about that." Laxus said as the girl looked at him with wide eyes.

"Tall." was all she said before walking away. Laxus shrugged and continued on his way. Natsu caught sight of a little boy with spikey blue hair dressed in dark clothes holding a few wooden dolls in his arms sitting in an alley. The boy looked at him with wary eyes and moved further into the alley as Laxus passed him. Natsu smiled and waved and the boy looked honestly surprised by the action before waving back shyly. Natsu started to feel the power of sleep and was trying to stay awake a bit longer, but he fell asleep and rested his head on Laxus's back. Laxus felt Natsu's head fall onto him and stopped to look back, seeing Natsu asleep on him before smiling and continuing to walk to his place. Laxus heard Natsu mumbling in his sleep and thought he was having a nice dream until he felt a wetness on his back. Instantly, he looked back again to see Natsu's cheek wet with tears. He carefully maneuvered the boy so he could carry him in his arms.

"No. Daddy...wha...no...Acno-. Why can't I sa-NO!" Laxus held Natsu more securely and the boy snuggled deeper into Laxus' chest. Laxus smiled gently at the tender action and began walking towards his home again. Laxus changed Natsu into his pajamas, tucked him into bed and was about to head back to his own room when Natsu let out a scared noise and turned over, all but strangling the covers under his hand as an unknown nightmare flashed before his closed eyelids.

"No! Stay away, Ac...no-!" Laxus sighed, removed most of his clothes and crawled into bed with the scared boy before pulling him back into his chest.

"Shh, it's O.K, Natsu. It's just a dream. It's not real." Natsu calmed down after hearing Laxus' voice and curled right up into the elder's chest before his breathing slowed down to a gentle, slow rhythm befitting a peaceful, restful sleep. Laxus turned the lights off and he too followed Natsu into the realm of dreams.

* * *

Annie: That's the rewriting chapter of chapter five. I added a couple of things here and there to make it a little bit better.

Just2protect: I can't wait for chapter six.

Both: Ja Ne.


	6. Chapter 6

Annie: Hey, everyone. This is a rewriting version of chapter six. Hey, Just2protect!

Just2protect: Nani, Ani? (What, Annie?)

Annie: What do you think so far of the story?

Just2protect: It's great.

Annie: Great. Enjoy. ^-^

* * *

Natsu woke up feeling warmer than he had in a long time. It wasn't uncomfortable but it was enough to make him sweat a little. He tried moving a little to relieve the heat but something heavy was draped over his waist.  
Blearily, Natsu blinked awake and looked around, taking in what he noticed. He was in Laxus' guest room, in his pajamas. But the last thing he remembered…Natsu let out a tiny gasp. He'd fallen asleep on Laxus' back on the way home. He squirmed in bed, trying to roll over to see Laxus and maybe wake him up, but the arm on his waist kept him securely in place.

"Laxus, wake up. Your arm is crushing me!" Natsu complained, trying to wake up the older teen. Laxus grunted.

"Nmm. Not now. Sleeping."

"Laxus, get off!" Natsu groaned, pushing his feet against Laxus' legs. Behind him, Laxus' eyes opened and he smirked before rolling over so Natsu really was being crushed under his weight but he made sure Natsu could still breathe before setting his head down on the pillows again and pretending to be asleep again.

"Laxus!"

"Mmm. Comfy," the blonde groaned as Natsu squirmed to escape.

"Get off! I'm not a pillow!"

"Point." Laxus said as he got off the boy. Natsu instantly leapt from the bed and darted to the door, using it as a shield.

"What are you doing?" Laxus asked.

"Keeping away from you before you crush me again!" Natsu yelled. Laxus threw his head back and laughed.

"It's not funny! You really could've crushed me!"

"I don't weigh that much you little brat." Laxus teased as he got out of bed and stretched. The teen mussed Natsu's hair as he passed, headed to his own room.

"Get dressed and we'll finish the rocking horse after breakfast. Then we can drop it off at the client's house before heading to the Guild, okay?" Natsu nodded and before he even realized it, he was hopping on his toes, waiting for Laxus to come down the stairs to the little work-space they'd set up in the basement. The floor was covered in a blue tarp that now was covered in bits of cut off wood, wood dust and cans of paint and wood stain as well as brushes resting in a bucket of dark-colored water off to the side. In the middle of the tarp rested a beautiful rocking horse, not yet painted but stained a beautiful caramel color.

"Come on Laxus, hurry up!" Natsu called as the blonde made his way down the stairs.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, I swear." Laxus replied as he jumped the last few steps and took a seat on the tarp. Natsu pulled some of the cans up to the teen and watched excitedly as the elder opened them. The smell made both Dragon Slayers pause for a moment before they began their task. Natsu was responsible for painting the horse's front while Laxus painted the back and seat.

"Do you think the kid will like it?" Natsu asked as he painted the inside of the small opening meant to be the mouth red. Laxus shrugged as he painted on a red saddle before looking up at Natsu.

"I bet they will. And if they don't it's not our fault."

"It would be a shame." Natsu commented as he set down the red paintbrush and switched to blue for the eyes.

"Yea, for them." Laxus chuckled as he moved to work on the tail, painting it black.

"Because trust me. One day, Gray, Freed, you and I are going to be famous."

"How so?" Laxus smirked.

"Well, you know about the Ten Wizard Saints, right?" Natsu nodded.

"And about the Ishgar Four?" Natsu nodded again.

"Uncle Atlas told me once."

"Well, we're going to be more powerful than all of them put together." Natsu shot the teen a look.

"Now you're exaggerating." Natsu said, rolling his eyes.

"They say each generation is stronger than the one before." Laxus said. Natsu's hand stilled and he put the paintbrush down, his mind remembering what Atlas had said about the thing that Igneel had been afraid of, that had killed Natsumi. Laxus noticed how Natsu had suddenly gone quiet and ceased his own painting.

"You okay bud?"

"Huh?" Natsu said, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Yea, I'm fine."

"You sure?" Laxus pressed, setting his brush off to the side. Natsu shrugged, picking at some drying paint on his fingers.

"I never told you about the day my dad left, did I?" the boy asked. Laxus sat up straight and shook his head.

"No. I figured one day I might hear about it. Is today that day?" Natsu nodded.

"Apparently, there was this…I don't know what…but Dad was afraid of it…because before he had me, he had a daughter named Natsumi. Whatever my dad was afraid of, it killed her when she was a baby. I don't know where Dad went…All I know is that he was there when I went to bed but gone when I woke up. When Uncle Atlas said he left…I don't know why, but I was angry and scared and upset and I somehow ended up thinking Uncle Atlas killed Dad to take the title of King of the Fire Dragons." Laxus' eyes widened as he listened.

"You thought Atlas killed Igneel?" Natsu nodded.

"If we really do become strong enough to be Wizard Saints…do you think we could take down whatever it is that scared my dad?" Natsu felt something sting his eyes and turned away from Laxus, refusing to rub at his teary eyes. The teen sighed and moved over to Natsu, pulling the boy into a gentle hug.

"We're not going to become strong enough to be Wizard Saints, we're gonna be strong enough to beat them," Laxus said. Fast as the lightning he commanded, Laxus' hand shot down and began tickling Natsu's stomach. The pink-haired boy burst into laughter, holding onto Laxus' arm as laughed and gasped for air, the teen smirking almost sadistically at the boy struggling to escape his tickle attack.

"Okay! Okay! I give! You win!" Natsu cried, tears from laughing beginning to form in his eyes. Laxus chuckled and sat the boy up in his lap again.

"That's better. Now let's finish this thing."

Four hours later...

Natsu peeked out from behind the bush he and Laxus had ducked into once they'd dropped off the toy on the front step of the client's house and knocked. Sometimes having Dragon Slayer-heightened senses came in handy as both boys had been able to hear the client's wife get up, poke fun at her pregnant belly and aching back and slowly make her way to the door, giving them plenty of time to run and hide behind a bush near the road. After a few moments, the woman stepped out, both arms wrapped around her bulging belly as she looked around. She was a tiny, skinny little thing, the exact opposite of her husband by physical standards. She wore a pale shawl around her shoulders and a blue nightgown underneath. Her hands flew to her mouth when she saw the rocking horse on the front step with a note on the seat that simply said, "Congratulations!" The woman placed one of her hands on the underside of her belly again and gently rubbed the top with the other before looking around again and staring right at the bush Laxus and Natsu were hiding in. Natsu held his breath for a second before the woman bent down awkwardly and pulled the horse into the house. She looked back at the bush and mouthed a thank you before shutting the door. Natsu smiled as Laxus let out a breath and sagged into the bush a little.

"Well…that was almost scary." He said, putting a hand on his chest.

"I mean, the last time I ran and hid like that, I was a little kid and Gramps was about to get on my backside about getting into the alcohol." Natsu shot Laxus a look. The teen put up his hands.

"I swear! I only took a sip! The crap tasted dang disgusting, so I haven't had any since!" Natsu began laughing and Laxus smiled before he stood up and brushed some twigs and leaves from his shirt and hair.

"Well then, ready to head to the Guild?"

"Yep!" Natsu cheered. Laxus picked the boy up and set him on his shoulders. Natsu clung to Laxus' head like a lifeline and the two burst into laughter as they made their way to the Guild Hall. Just as they neared the doors, Laxus noticed a little boy with blue-black hair dressed in dark, almost ratty clothing, holding a few small wooden dolls in his arm standing right outside the door.

"Trying to go in?" Laxus asked and the boy whirled around, red eyes wide.

"I know you!" Natsu called, pointing at the boy.

"You're the boy I saw at the Fantasia Parade, right?" The boy nodded before he scowled.

"I'm fifteen!" He snapped. Laxus looked the teen over again. He couldn't have been much bigger than Natsu perched on his shoulders. But this kid was almost his and Freed's age? Taking in the teen's clothes and the scent of garbage off him again, Laxus reasoned he was probably living off the streets and didn't eat as much as he should, which would reason for his small stature.

"Well. I'm Laxus and this flame-brain on my shoulders is Natsu. What's your name?"

"Bickslow." The teen said, running his thumb on one of the dolls in his arms.

"Alright then Bickslow. Why don't we get inside and you can talk to the Master about joining, alright?" Laxus said as he pushed the door open. Almost immediately, the blonde teen caught sight of Freed and Gray seated at their usual table, Freed with a massive book in hand and Gray without his shirt and pants…again. Laxus looked behind him as the door shut. Bickslow had followed him inside but had his back pressed against the door, ready to bolt if the need arose.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail Bicks, you're gonna love it here." Natsu said as he and Laxus went to their table with Bickslow following them with a blush from the nickname that Natsu had gave him making his dolls shake in quiet laughter. It only took about a week for Bickslow to make himself comfortable at the table with Freed, Gray, Natsu and Laxus. Apparently, he was a Seith Wizard, meaning he could control souls. The five that were constantly with him inhabited the tiny wooden dolls he'd come in with and were named Pappa, Pippi, Puppu, Peppe, and Poppo. And after only a week of hearty meals from the Guild, Bickslow was already shooting up in height and muscular build. Another new member to join was the brown-haired girl Laxus had run into on the same night, apparently named Evergreen, who could use Fairy Magic and turn people to stone with her eyes. It didn't take Laxus long to figure these kids were the ones the rumors from earlier had been talking about and was quick to have Evergreen join them at the table too, especially saying that she and Erza almost got into a brawl within the first five minutes of meeting each other. Natsu couldn't stop himself from constantly asking the two newcomers questions about their powers and how they work. It worked to get the two additions to be more open with him. Laxus figured it must just be one of the many talents of Natsu Dragneel, getting people to like him. Gramps came up to the table right in the middle of Natsu popping more questions on Bickslow. Laxus noticed how solemn his grandfather looked as he neared.

"What's up Gramps?" Laxus asked, catching everyone's attention.

"I got some news from Porlyusica last night." The Master said grimly.

"Who?" Natsu asked.

"Lady Porlyusica is an old friend of Master Makarov's and used to be a member of Fairy Tail," Freed explained.

"She's also the one we usually turn to when our wizards have been gravely injured."

"Did something happen?" Laxus asked. Makarov nodded.

"Ivan came back last night. Apparently Atlas was badly injured during their mission." Natsu shot to his feet.

"What?" Laxus put a hand on the boy's shoulder and stood up slowly.

"What about Macao? If they got back last night…" Makarov bowed his head and shook it once. The blonde's eyes widened and the table went silent for a moment.

"So…what about Uncle Atlas, how is he doing?" Natsu asked softly.

"He's in bad shape, but not as bad as he was. When he first arrived, Porlyusica was nearly afraid he wouldn't make it through the night. But apparently, even in human form, Atlas's dragon abilities to heal rapidly are functioning."

"I gotta see him then." Natsu said. Laxus nodded.

"What about Dad?" Laxus asked. "He didn't come home last night."

"He hasn't left Atlas' side." Laxus nodded and tapped Natsu's shoulder before heading for the door.

"Freed, you keep those three out of trouble, you hear me? I should be back later." Freed nodded and returned to his book. Natsu looked back at his friends as he and Laxus left. Grey smiled supportively, Evergreen waved and Bickslow whispered something to one of his dolls and the tiny object shot through the air and hugged Natsu's cheek before taking a seat on the boy's shoulder. Natsu appreciated the gesture but as he and Laxus continued down the road, something Makarov had said kept bothering the pink-haired boy. Or rather, his lack of saying something. The Master had said nothing of Ivan being injured. But this mission had ended with Macao's death and Atlas' being injured. Natsu felt his stomach churn a little as a shudder raced down his spine.

"You okay bud?" Laxus asked. Natsu nodded, somewhat nervous about what he was going to see once he got to Porlyusica's house. Laxus put a hand on Natsu's head and mussed his hair.

"It's okay. I'm sure everything will be alright." Natsu nodded. Laxus' worry grew when Natsu neither reprimanded him for mussing his hair nor moved to fix said hair as it stood up oddly on his head. Not knowing what to say, Laxus stuffed his hands into his pockets.

* * *

Annie: That's the rewriting chapter of chapter six. I added a couple of things here and there to make it a little bit better.

Just2protect: I can't wait for chapter seven.

Both: Ja Ne.


	7. Chapter 7

Annie: Hey, everyone.

Just2protect: Short AN.

Annie: This story is going to be in books so everyone can read them.

Both: Enjoy. ^-^

* * *

Natsu's focus was entirely on the ground, watching his feet move one in front of the other. He didn't even really notice when the cobblestone streets changed to dirt and then to grass and then to a dirt path again. Laxus put a hand on the boy's shoulder just before he ran into the door carved into a massive tree.

"We're here." Laxus said before knocking on the door. Almost immediately, an older woman with bright red eyes and pink hair dressed in a white shirt under a green vest and a dark skirt all under a long red cloak that stood up around her neck and the edge near her head was decorated with claws. The wrinkles on her face made more prominent from the deep scowl she was sporting. Natsu couldn't help but look her over a few times.

"Are you just going to stand there staring at me or are you here for a reason?!" she snapped. Natsu instantly took refuge behind Laxus and peeked out when the teen chuckled.

"Sorry Porlyusica. You remember me, right? Laxus Dreyar?" The woman's eyes narrowed.

"Of course I remember you, stupid boy. Who else would break an arm and an leg every summer for six years straight?!" she snapped before opening the door wide.

"And who's hiding behind you, your little girlfriend?"

"This is Natsu Dragneel, he's Atlas Flame's adoptive nephew." Laxus said, willing the heat suddenly appearing in his cheeks to go away.

"Is Uncle Atlas still here?" Natsu asked timidly.

"Get inside. Back room." Porlyusica said, much more gently than before. Laxus nodded and stepped inside, Natsu following quickly after. The back room was completely bare save for the bed against the wall and the chair in the corner, both occupied by the men caring for the boys. Natsu whimpered at the sight of Atlas covered in bandages on the bed and covered with a blanket. Ivan had fallen asleep sitting up in the chair. Upon hearing the whimper, Atlas groaned and forced his eyes open, though one was nearly swelled shut. He turned with a hiss to the door and smiled at the sight of the boys.

"Natsu." he said, pulling his arm out from under the blanket. Natsu ran over to his uncle but froze before the man reached up, cupping Natsu's cheek with his hand and pulling him to his chest for a light hug. The boy crawled into the bed and laid next to his uncle as Laxus came over.

"You look like someone put you through a wringer." Laxus commented. Atlas' smile faded as he held Natsu tighter.

"Something like that." the former dragon said.

"What exactly happened then?" The three turned to see Makarov standing at the door. A slight noise alerted them to Ivan's awakening as the man pinched the bridge of his nose and stretched his back. "Ah, Ivan, you're awake."

"Father." Ivan greeted before turning a smile to his son. "Laxus." Laxus went over to his father and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You look good." Laxus said with a chuckle. Ivan nodded.

"If it weren't for Atlas, I'd be a dead man now." Atlas' grip on Natsu tightened to near-bruising. Natsu said nothing of it and simply nuzzled into his uncle's chest.

"I'd like to speak to Atlas alone. Natsu, you may stay if you wish." Makarov said in his sternest voice.

"Of course Master." Ivan said as he stood up and left the room. Laxus paused at the door and looked back with a small smile before shutting the door. Makarov took his time with getting the chair Ivan had been in just moments before and pulling it over to Atlas' side as the former dragon slowly sat up in the bed. Natsu helped him as best he could and moved to his other side.

"Atlas, tell me who did this to you." Makarov said. Atlas' head hung as Natsu bit his lip.

"It was Ivan." Atlas admitted. Natsu and Makarov's eyes went wide.

"I was fighting a few of those dark guild jokers and suddenly, my body just froze up. I saw Ivan behind me, casting spells at the dark guild members. He managed to take them out, using me as a shield." Makarov sighed grimly before sitting up straight.

"Ivan, get back in here!" Natsu stiffened at the sound of the man's name and Atlas pulled his nephew into his lap protectively. The man in question arrived moments later.

"You wanted to see me, Master?"

"Indeed. There's a grave matter that has come to my attention. Atlas has just informed me that during your mission, he was used as your shield, unable to move or defend himself against the dark mages. Is this correct?" Ivan glared at Atlas and then shifted his gaze to Natsu. Atlas curled around the boy protectively.

"Answer me, Ivan!"

"There's obviously been a mistake, Master. Atlas is new to the guild, true, but he is still a member of this family, is he not? Why would I use him as a shield?"

"Because you knew that because I was really a dragon, I can take a beating more than the average human or mage. You used that information to protect yourself, leaving me immobile during the whole fight." Atlas snapped as he stood up, putting Natsu in his bed behind him.

"Unless you're calling me a liar, Ivan." Natsu looked to the Master, panicked.

"Uncle Atlas would never lie!" He cried.

"You have to believe me! He's a dragon and dragons never lie! What reason would he have to lie to you?!"

"I've heard enough." Makarov said, tapping his staff on the floor.

"Ivan, due to your actions, you're henceforth, now and forever, expelled from the halls of this Guild. Never again will you be a member of Fairy Tail." Ivan's teeth grit and he turned to Atlas, snarling, before looking to his father and between the two.

"This isn't over, father!" The man snarled.

"You'll regret doing this to me! And once I'm through with you, old man, I'll get back at you Flame! Then I might just take the brat for myself! I've always wondered what the differences are between a Slayer trained by a dragon over a lacrima." Atlas was instantly in Ivan's face, amber eyes colder than Grey's ice.

"Lay a hand on Natsu, I'll turn my Hellfire on you!" he snarled.

"Ivan! Leave now!" Makarov snapped. Ivan snarled again and turned on his heel to leave. The door slammed behind him, but Atlas remained standing, glaring at the door as if the man was about to reappear at any moment.

"Atlas, you may sit back down now." Makarov said gently. Atlas gripped the headboard of the bed tightly.

"Someone angry is coming." He said. Natsu curled into a ball, trying to prepare for the person his uncle spoke of. The door slammed open and the boy jumped.

"What's going on, Gramps?!" Laxus roared.

"Plain and simple, Ivan endangered the lives of the Guild Mates, resulting in the death of one and the severe injury of another. Thus, he's been expelled."

"You've got to be kidding me! It was a mission against a Dark Guild! It's dangerous! Atlas and Macao should've known that!"

"It's more than that Laxus." Atlas said sternly.

"Ivan immobilized me and used me as a shield. Macao tried to help me, only to end up getting killed. All the while, your father was intentionally missing his targets while I was all but ripped apart by their spells."

"Do you even know my father?! He uses Illusion Magic! He can't immobilize people!" Laxus snapped back, a bolt of lightning jumping off his arm and leaving a scorch mark on the floor by Atlas' feet. Natsu gasped and looked up at the enraged teen who'd cared for him during the last month. The difference between the Laxus he'd seen that morning at breakfast and the one before him now were like night and day. The Laxus from earlier had been smiling and cheerful and playful. He'd smelled like the air after a storm. He'd been more than happy to pull Natsu into a hug, up onto his shoulders, onto his back for a piggy-back late at night. The Laxus before him now smelled like something was burning during a storm, hit by lightning and having no chance of surviving the strike. This Laxus was snarling, teeth bared, shoulders hunched to make himself look bigger and rage boiling in those stormy-colored eyes. This Laxus almost seemed to make the earlier one like a distant memory.

"Laxus, that's enough!" Makarov shouted at his grandson, earning himself a rage-filled glare before the teen stormed out of the room, slamming the door so hard that everything on the walls shook. Atlas collapsed back onto the bed, clutching at his bandaged stomach with a groan.

"Uncle Atlas!" Natsu cried, wrapping his arms around Atlas' massive one.

"I'm fine Natsu. Just a little muscle saying it's tired." Atlas said with a smile. Natsu nodded.

"I'll go talk to Laxus," Natsu said as he jumped off the bed and raced towards the door.

"I'll come home in an hour or two, alright?"

"Okay!" Natsu called as he shut the door gently. Makarov turned back to Atlas with a warm smile and put a gentle hand on his unwounded shoulder.

"Get some rest Atlas. You're home now and everything will be fine." The man nodded.

"Also, Porlyusica says no mission for a while." Atlas threw his head back and laughed.

"With the reward I've earned, even through I had tooken Macao's share, I doubt I'll need one for a while." He said before his expression turned grim.

"Something wrong?" Makarov asked.

"I've been thinking. Macao took this job with Ivan and I because he had a kid to care for. I know the kid's not mine, but Macao gave up his life trying to help me. I owe him. And since I can't pay him back directly, I've decided that I'll care for his family in his stead." Makarov's eyes widened.

"Are you sure? Do you even mean by marrying his widow?"

"I'll let his wife have her time to mourn before I bring up anything of the sort. But that kid needs a father-figure. And his wife will need someone too. I won't force her into anything. If she refuses me, then I'll simply ask to still help where I can." Makarov nodded, patting Atlas' shoulder.

"There will be time for that. But for now, get your rest. You have a boy of your own to raise right now," Makarov said before he left the room. Atlas smirked a little as his eyes began to sting and the heels of his palms dug into his eyes, trying to stop the flow of salty water.

"A boy of my own? I wouldn't dare call Natsu mine, not after what happened last time." Unwanted memories came rushing back to the surface. Memories of a sweet little auburn-red dragoness hatchling playing with a small red male hatchling, of the tiny male nuzzling up to him late at night and his mother tickling her baby with her nose, of smelling blood and fire, of the black shadow racing over his and Igneel's heads as they raced towards the gut-wrenching smell, of two mangled baby dragon corpses, never to rise again. Atlas' fists clenched until his fingernails dug into his skin, leaving bloody crescents on the back of his hand and in his palm.

"Laxus! Wait a second!" Natsu called as he ran after the teen. Laxus slowed down and looked over his shoulder, letting Natsu come up to him, panting for breath.

"What?"

"I know you're mad about your dad…But a family can't be hurting each other! And because of Ivan, Uncle Atlas got hurt and he let Macao die!"

"Look Natsu, I know my dad! He cares about Fairy Tail as much as you or me, maybe even more! He'd never just let someone from Fairy Tail die! He also wouldn't have done what Atlas said! My dad can only use Illusion Magic!"

"But Uncle Atlas wouldn't lie to anyone!" Natsu snapped.

"Then why didn't you trust him?!" Laxus snapped. Natsu gave him a confused look.

"You said it yourself, when your dad vanished, you actually believed Atlas killed him to take the title of King of the Fire Dragons, didn't you?!" Natsu stepped away from the blonde, mouth open slightly as the teen's betrayal sunk in.

"Laxus…"

"Don't bother, kid." With that, Laxus stormed off, electricity cackling around him as he left Natsu there, biting back the urge to cry. Laxus punched the wall, leaving a well-sized crater in the plaster. His arm swung back, knocking a shelf over. The tiny gold dragon Natsu had given him hit the wall and then the floor, completely unharmed. Laxus caught sight of the tiny piece and it seemed to calm him down. He slowly moved towards the tiny glass figurine and bent down to pick it up. The memory of Natsu's smile when he got the tiny dragon set flashed before his eyes, how happy he'd been when they finally finished the baby's rocking horse, his sleepy snuggling on the night of the Fantasia parade... Laxus' fingers wrapped tightly around the dragon, as if attempting to crush it in his grip. With a sigh, Laxus stood back up and slapped the dragon onto the dining room table before heading to his room.

A Few Days Later…  
Atlas looked up at the house. This was certainly the right place. Macao's former home loomed over him. The dragon-turned-human took a deep breath and stepped onto the welcome mat. A sudden crash followed by a baby's wailing assaulted his ears. Without a second's hesitation, the man kicked in the door and raced inside. The house was dark as he rushed through. A thin layer of dust was beginning to collect on everything. But something that gave the former dragon pause was the scent in the air; something of it reminded him not of Macao, but of someone else he'd lost long before Natsu became Igneel's son. The man shook his head and raced to where he heard the crying and found a tiny baby boy laying on his back next to his crib. The smell coming from his diaper made Atlas gag for a second and the boy's face was red as he kicked his feet and waved his arms around, trying to non-verbally say he needed something. Atlas could hear the baby's stomach growling angrily beneath the crying. He couldn't hear the baby's mother anywhere and her scent was faint, at least a day old if not more. Rage began to boil in Atlas' blood. What mother abandoned her son like this? The baby began to cry louder, knowing he wasn't being cared for despite someone being in the room. Atlas rushed forward and picked up the baby boy gently, hushing him softly, the adult decided to first rid the child of the disgusting-smelling diaper. He knew little of how humans put diapers on in the first place, let alone changed one on a squirming child. After a few attempts, Atlas managed to rid the child of the smell and put on a fresh diaper before taking a blanket from the crib as well as a small soft toy before rushing out of the house and back to the old healer. The instant she'd seen the tiny baby in the former-dragon's arms she had set to work, grabbing herbs and vials and flasks, mixing their contents and rattling off questions one after another.

"Who's is it?"

"Macao's."

"Where's the mother?"

"Gone. Smells like she hasn't been there for a while. Two or three days at most."

"Any idea how old?"

"Probably six months?" Atlas guessed, sitting down and running a hand over the baby's hair as Porlyusica handed him a bottle which he immediately put to the baby's mouth. Without missing a beat, the tiny boy grabbed the bottle with his meaty hands and began sucking as hard as he could.

"He'll need to be fed regularly. I can make up some bottles that you'll need to feed him every other feeding to help him regain some of the nutrients he's missed."

"And how often a day should he feed?" Atlas asked.

"About four to six times. Really depends on him. Start by trying to feed him in another four hours. If he'd not hungry, wait about an hour or two before trying again. But saying as you think it might have been a few days since his mother left, he might be hungry every four hours or so for a little while. Honestly, this is one of the reasons I can't stand humans." Atlas nodded.

"They sometimes act like they're the only one that matters, not another individual that is being hurt by their actions." Atlas said solemnly. Porlyusica sighed and shook her head as she returned to her work of making some bottles for the baby.

"Do you know his name?" she asked.

"I think Macao said something about it being Romeo? There was a large R nailed to the nursery door when I went in. And Porlyusica?" Porlyusica hummed to show she'd heard him. "Do you know how to change a baby? I think I got the basic idea back at the house but it took a little time." The woman sighed.

"I can teach you. Based on what you said to Makarov earlier, it sounds like now your plan would be to take him in?" Atlas nodded.

"Macao died trying to help me. The least I can do is care for the boy he went on that job for," Atlas reasoned as Romeo finished off the bottle.

"You'll want to burp him now." Porlyusica said, moving to sit next to the former dragon and help him set the baby on his shoulder properly.

"He might spit up a bit, but that's normal." Atlas nodded and began patting Romeo's back. As he did, his mind began to register the baby's scent and his eyes widened when he realized he recognized it. He turned his head to the boy and sniffed him again, getting a lungful of scent that neither burned like Macao's purple fire had, nor smelled of the perfumes Macao's wife had worn, but Atlas recognized it as a fire, like a dragon. Similar to Natsu's scent, similar to Natsumi's scent… Romeo burped and Atlas' hand cupped the boy's head, holding him tightly to his chest as he attempted to keep his breathing normal, despite the intense amount of shock he was in.

"Is everything alright?" Porlyusica asked.

"Do you need me to take him for a bit?" Atlas shook his head and pressed a kiss to the boy's forehead, a stray tear slipping down his cheek.

"What's wrong?"

"I used to have a son of my own, centuries ago, around the same time Igneel had a daughter named Natsumi. But she and my son were murdered as hatchlings. Somehow, Romeo's scent is exactly like my son's." Porlyusica's eyes went wide before she smiled slightly.

"Some humans believe in something called reincarnation."

"I know. Dragons believe in that too. When you die, you're born as something or someone else. Do you think that…Romeo is the reincarnation of my son?"

"Perhaps. Either way, he's yours now." She said as she stood back up and returned to her work. Natsu sighed quietly and glanced up at the second floor where Laxus had practically made himself a perch upon beating Cana and gaining an S-Class rank in December. Freed, Evergreen and Bickslow were usually near the grouchy blonde, but still made a point to at least say a cheerful "Good morning" to Natsu. But what Natsu really hated was that he couldn't even go talk to Laxus. The blonde was always either on a job, or seated at his perch where a magic barrier kept Natsu from reaching the second floor at all. With another small sigh, Natsu turned his attention ahead to watch Romeo smash his hands into the orange mush that was supposed to have been his mashed carrots for lunch. Laxus looked down from his perch, eyes almost instantly locking on Natsu. Lightning magic flared in irritation and he felt his left arm tense for a second. He slammed his feet onto the floor, snatched off a flyer from the S-Class board and stormed out without so much as a word to anyone. He'd been irritated with anyone and anything ever since his fight with Natsu that he almost couldn't stand being in the Guild Hall at all, let alone when Natsu, Atlas or his own grandfather was there. It was their fault anyway for Ivan getting kicked out. Laxus' feet slowed as he neared his house. His father had entirely left Magnolia after that job, leaving Laxus alone in the house. And it had been on a more recent job that Laxus found out he'd established his own Guild, Raven Tail. The blonde shook his head and went inside. The door was stopped before it could close by Freed's boot as the green-haired mage entered.

"Going on a job?" He asked.

"What was your first clue?"

"You've been going on quite a few of those lately, are there money troubles?"

"I'm living on my own now Freed. So yea, I think so."

"And this isn't to avoid the Guild Hall, Master, Atlas or Natsu?" Freed asked sarcastically, already knowing the answer.

"It was their fault!"

"I know what you believe, but…We have to look at the facts. Macao is dead and Atlas was all but dead when he was brought to Porlyusica. And I was doing some research. Illusion Magic is basically entering the mind and forcing certain chemicals to react in manners to each other that cause a desired effect."

"Can you repeat that in English?" Laxus snapped.

"In basic terms, your father could telepathically enter the mind of anyone he chose and cause them to react to thought projections he'd created. When I looked up the Dark Guild they went to destroy I found something interesting, if you switch the letters around, Rat Levina can become Raven Tail." Laxus paused as he stuffed a pair of boots into his pack.

"Your point? Those letters can make plenty of other crap too."

"True. However, try looking at it like this. In all but name, your father is a telepath. He can project his imagination and enter the brains of those he's targeting causing them to react to the visual stimuli as they would in reality. There's hundreds of stories of good Wizards who went off to take down a dark guild only to return as traitors, having been given the opportunity to take the lead, become higher than those around them they don't like, and to do it without worrying about the Magic Council's say. I personally don't think it's a stretch to believe Ivan turned Rat Levina into Raven Tail and returned to kill Atlas and thus, lessen Fairy Tail's threat to him."

"First off, Rat Levina's Guild Master is still alive! He's rotting away in a cell right now! Second, Dad didn't even know about Atlas until he got home!"

"True, the Guild Master of Rat Levina is still alive and in prison. But I reiterate, your father is a powerful telepath. When one can affect the thoughts of another, it's a simple matter to make them believe they're still in charge of the Guild, not rotting away in a cell. And in case you didn't notice, most of the members of Rat Levina have either joined Raven Tail or have gone missing or have been found dead, mostly from a chemical overdose. And as for your father learning of Atlas, he did have friends aside from you and your grandfather within the Guild who could have told him about Atlas and Natsu. Perhaps you didn't see it, but the day he came back, he seemed to have an interest in Natsu before he learned who he was."

"So explain this to me, oh wise one." Laxus sneered, turning around slowly, arms crossing over his chest as he leaned against the table behind him.

"Why would my dad want Atlas dead or have an interest in Natsu?" Freed stood up straighter and sighed.  
"Atlas is a former dragon. Dragons were once powerful enough to rule this world so it would make sense that if it got out that Fairy Tail had a former dragon among our ranks, our enemies would target Atlas if only to alleviate a threat of power against them. And as for Natsu…" Freed sighed again.

"You probably wouldn't remember, but Master does. When you and I first teamed up, Master called me to his office to discuss you. He explained to me that when you were younger, you got sick very easily. Your father implanted a lacrima into your skull behind your eye that not only ended your getting sick, but also enhanced your muscles and bodily functions until…" Freed gestured towards the larger, more muscular teen's form.

"You can see. But what Master stressed upon was the fact that even without your copious number of diseases, this operation is exceedingly dangerous, not to mention this is a Lightning Dragon Lacrima implanted in your skull. If even the slightest thing had gone wrong, you would not be here right now."

"All you're telling me is that my dad did something to help me get better as a kid and so far the effects are pretty darned good."

"What I'm saying is that Natsu was raised by dragons, the very beings that created Dragon Slayer Magic. Of course there would be differences between your abilities for a number of variables: age, your genealogical history, the time spent training, but the one that stands out the most is that Natsu literally has Igneel's blood, blood of a pure fire dragon, in his veins thanks to a blood fusion spell but your lacrima only has crushed scales, small amounts of blood or the like from a Lightning Dragon. To a man like Ivan who loves to learn about the unknown, Natsu is equivalent to a gold mine of knowledge to study, prod, poke…dissect."

"Shut your mouth!" Laxus roared as something inside him snapped and his arm shot out, punching the wall and leaving a well-sized crater in the object. Freed didn't even blink.

"Just shut your mouth about things you don't know!"

"I will admit I don't know exactly what your father's intentions were. But I'm drawing conclusions based on what we do know and what makes sense. But something I'm absolutely certain of is that Bickslow and Evergreen miss being with Natsu, and they're not the only ones! Ever since that job, you're constantly trying to be alone, are hardly ever at the Guild and haven't even smiled once!" The green-haired mage opened his mouth to say more but instead opted to take a moment to calm down.

"You miss him too?" Laxus asked, catching Freed's attention.

"Yes." Laxus nodded before glaring at the mage.

"I don't own you, or Bickslow or Evergreen. If you guys want to hang out with Natsu, fine. But I want nothing to do with that kid anymore. So do what you want, I seriously do not care." The Dragon Slayer snarled before turning back around and stuffing things into his pack with more rage than before. Freed sighed and shook his head.

"One last thing. I know you're alienating yourself from those who don't see things the way you do about your father, but don't let that isolate you entirely. Master is an old man and your last remaining family in Fairy Tail, Natsu is going to defend his uncle who came home wounded, and you're the only one looking for Ivan's innocence where there is none." With that, the rune mage turned and headed for the door, pausing with a hand on the handle before turning back somewhat.

"The job you're going on is at Mt. Hakabe, you'll need a coat."

"I know."

"And Master and I will have our lacrima on us at all times if you need us." Freed said solemnly as he opened the door and left. Laxus snarled, gripping the pack before flinging it across the room with a roar and slamming his hands down on the table. A flash of lightning and the table was burnt to a frail crisp that turned to a pile of ashes after a moment. Laxus sighed and plopped down into a chair, glaring at the pile. Near the bottom, he caught sight of something glistening in the light. He bent down and picked it up, dusting the ash off the tiny glass dragon in his palm.

"You again, huh?" His fingers wrapped around it again and he pressed his fist to his forehead. Too many emotions were racing through him for him to really label. Those he could label, he didn't want to feel: Anger, betrayal, sorrow, regret. He knew his father hadn't been the best of people, but as far as Laxus could really remember, he'd been tolerable. His first instinct upon hearing his father's complete banishment from Fairy Tail had been to protect the man, if only because he was flesh and blood, he was family and no one could choose their family. But then his mind wandered to the month he'd spent with Natsu, the time he'd spent with the pink-haired boy and Gray on the first floor, and then he heard his own words echo in his head.

"Once Natsu's old enough, he's joining the Thunder Legion." Laxus' hands clenched until he could feel the tiny glass ridges of the dragon in his hand piercing his skin.

"I'm a complete idiot!" He snarled. He knew he needed to do something to fix this. But nothing came to mind. It had been a few months since that job now and he'd broken Natsu's trust by throwing his story about not trusting Atlas back in his face. Laxus knew that if it was him, he wouldn't want much of anything to do with whoever had broken his trust. Natsu woke to a knocking at the door and was quick to answer. Atlas had been up most of the night with Romeo and needed his sleep. Atlas even moved the furniture from Macao's house to their house through I think you can call it a one meter long three stories height mansion with balconies on each floor to each bedroom on each floor.

"Hello?" Natsu said as he opened the door. No one was there. But he smelled a rainstorm, salt, cloth, and blood. They'd been here not too long ago. Natsu looked down at the ground and saw a package with his name on it. Slowly, he bent down and picked it up, unwrapping it. Inside was the little glass dragon he'd given Laxus. No note, nothing else, just the dragon. The boy dropped the box, holding the dragon in his hand as he stood up and looked around, sniffing the air. The boy stuffed on his shoes and bolted after the scent, ending up a sweaty, panting mess by the time he reached the train station. He looked around for the tall blonde and even began running along the train's platform, following the scent until he almost ran into the train Laxus had boarded. He began running alongside it, scanning the windows for the familiar head of spikey blonde hair. Natsu wanted to know why Laxus would give the dragon back. Was it supposed to be an apology? Or a complete and total cut-off from each other, Laxus' way of saying he was letting go of everything to do with Natsu? Or was Laxus leaving Fairy Tail for good, not just for a job this time? Natsu felt hot tears rolling down his face and shook his head, trying to clear them from his vision in case he passed by Laxus. His inner dragon was pushing him to find the blonde, demand an explanation, try convincing him to not leave. The train whistle blew and Natsu began to run faster as the wheels began to move on the track.

"Laxus, wait!" Natsu screamed as the train began to speed up, leaving the pink-haired boy behind.

"Laxus! Wait! Don't go!" Natsu ran as fast as he could, watching helplessly as the train began to go faster and faster, rushing past him in a dark-colored blur, the passengers becoming mere flashes of color in their windows.

"Laxus!" Natsu screamed again before he tripped on his own feet and the train rushed off, around a bend and vanished from sight. The boy stayed where he was, gripping the glass dragon tightly as he curled in on himself. He'd failed. He hadn't been able to stop Igneel from leaving, and here, he'd missed Laxus by seconds at least but he still hadn't been able to stop him from leaving. He knew Laxus was angry about his father's being abandoned by Makarov, it was a dragon's instinct to protect their kin and that instinct was just as strong in the Slayers. But Natsu had hoped that eventually, Laxus would calm down and they could be friends again.  
He'd left him alone to let him calm down, find his own conclusion. But maybe that had been the wrong move and Laxus felt that Natsu had abandoned him as well. Natsu curled around the tiny dragon and bit his lip as he forced himself to stand up again and wiped at his tears. He shook his head again and rushed over to the ticket desk.

"The train that just left, where was it going?" Natsu demanded. The man behind the counter looked over a book next to him and nodded.

"Looks like it's going to a town near Mt. Hakabe, young man."

"I there another train going there today? A friend of mine was on that train just now and I need to talk to him. It can't wait!" The man nodded and pulled out a ticket from a drawer next to him.

"The next train will leave in an hour or so. Someone decided to cancel their ticket for that train so I can give this to you." The man said, sliding the ticket to the boy.

"Thank you!" Natsu called as he ran to the platform and eagerly waited for the train. While he normally would have been distracted by the new experience, the tiny glass dragon in his hand kept reminding him why he was there and where he was going. He had to get to Laxus and talk with him again. Finally, Natsu was able to take his seat on the next train and looked out the window, unable to sit still for very long. The glass dragon in his hand was cool and Natsu spent the trip thinking about what he might need to say to Laxus.

Laxus Point of View

Laxus took his seat on the train and slipped his headphones out of his pack and hung them around his neck. In his years of being a wizard, he'd found that focusing on his music while riding the train helped with his motion sickness. He sighed and reclined into the seat. After some thought, he'd decided it would be best to return the glass dragon to Natsu. He had said that if other Dragon Slayers joined the Guild and became his friends, he'd give them the remaining dragons. And from his own judgment, he'd lost the right to keep the little yellow dragon. So he'd returned it before leaving. The train began to move and Laxus swallowed down the urge to vomit.

"Laxus, wait!" Laxus' head snapped up at the sound of the voice.

"Laxus! Wait! Don't go!" Laxus stood up and peered through the window. On the platform, he could see Natsu running beside the train, slowly beginning to be left behind. But he couldn't have been more than a single car away. Laxus could see the pink-haired boy's eyes watering as he ran. Laxus began feeling along the side of the window, knowing that there was some latch or handle or something that would open the window. Whatever was bothering Natsu, it was making the boy come to him of all people with tears in his eyes. To Laxus, unless whatever had happened was bad enough to include the entire Guild, it made no sense whatsoever for Natsu to be yelling his name, wanting him to stay and having tears in his eyes. Laxus' stomach dropped to his feet as he saw Natsu be left behind more and more by the train and the boy tripped and didn't get back up. Laxus slammed his hand on the glass in frustration and growled under his breath. After a few moments, the blonde sat back down and put his headphones on. He couldn't focus on the music, though. No. His mind was occupied by thoughts of what Natsu had been crying about. In Laxus' own mind, he couldn't make sense of the boy's actions. He'd thrown Natsu' trust right back in his face, over a man who'd caused the death of a fellow Guild member and injured Atlas. Since then, he'd done little more than ignore the kid, continue defending his father, and lash out at anyone who didn't support his own ideas. To Laxus, the only thing he could think of that would make Natsu come to him, begging him to stay, and crying of all things, was that something must have happened to Atlas, Romeo, Makarov and the entire Guild and there was no one left Natsu could run to, but the Lightning Dragon Slayer. Those kinds of thoughts kept his mind so occupied during his trip, his usual motion sickness didn't even arise.

* * *

Both: Ja Ne.


	8. Chapter 8

Annie: Hey, everyone.

Just2protect: Short AN.

Annie: This story to have one more chapter then the second book is going to be going out.

Both: Enjoy. ^-^

* * *

Natsu practically leapt off the train once it came to a stop, not wanting Laxus' scent to get lost in the small crowd coming off the train after him. This station was a small one, barely more than a platform with a ticket stand and a few tourist families wandering around. Most of the shops were selling hot foods and drinks, equipment for the mountain just beyond the town's edge. Natsu took off down the street, following the faint scent he knew to be Laxus'. A flash of blonde in one of the shop windows made Natsu freeze in his tracks and peer inside. Sure enough, Laxus was inside, handing a man money that was probably to pay for the massive black coat now draping over his shoulders lined in dark grey fur. Natsu sighed and sat down by the door until the door opened and Laxus stepped out.

"Thank you again." The blonde said before closing the door.

"Laxus?" The teen jumped and turned to see Natsu sitting against the wall, looking up at him expectantly.

"What are you doing here?" Laxus asked.

"You were almost crying at the station. Is everything okay back at the Guild?"

"The Guild?" Natsu asked, standing up.

"I came after you because of this." Natsu opened his hand and showed the tiny glass dragon to Laxus.

"Why'd you give it back?" Laxus bent down to Natsu's level and set his pack off to the side.

"Well…When you originally gave it to me, you said that if more Dragon Slayers joined the Guild who became your friends, you'd give them the other two. And Freed made me realize that even though Ivan's my dad, it doesn't excuse what he did and I was the only one looking for his innocence. Had it been anyone else, I would've reacted the same way everyone else did. So I figured I should return it because, I figured…" Natsu threw his arms around Laxus' neck, almost sending the teenager flying back onto his back.

"You were upset. I thought you needed some time to cool down and when I saw the dragon this morning, I thought you were leaving me. I don't want you to go!" Laxus wrapped his arms around the boy and smiled thankfully before Natsu pulled away and held his hand out, giving the tiny dragon back. Laxus wrapped his fingers around it gently and smiled at the pink-haired boy in front of him.

"Thank you, Natsu." he said, wrapping a hand around the back of Natsu's neck and touched their foreheads. Just as they did, a shock of electricity shot through the both of them. Laxus yanked back and then checked Natsu's forehead for any electrical burns.

"Are you alright?" A small sigh of relief rushed out of him when Natsu nodded and there wasn't even a slight reddening on his forehead. That was when Laxus noticed that unlike other times when he used his magic, where he'd feel a slight tingling in the part of him that had released the lightning, he couldn't feel a tingling in his forehead, rather in his chest over his heart. He rubbed the spot, confused.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked. Laxus shook his head.

"Nothing. But on another note, we need to get you home. This is an S-Class job and you haven't even taken a regular job yet." Natsu shook his head.

"I think I've been away from you long enough. I wanna stay. What's the job anyway?" he asked. Laxus reached into his pocket and pulled out the page.

"Um…there's a Wyvern on the mountain that's been acting up. Normally they'd leave it alone but it's been coming close to hiking trails and scaring the tourists. They're worried someone will get hurt so my job is to relocate it or kill it, whichever happens is fine. Whatever scales I get I can sell at my leisure." Laxus said, trying to emphasize Natsu's need to go back home.

"Alright then! I'll help you. My nose is better than yours anyway so I can track better. You can still take the reward, I just want to stay with you and catch up a bit." Laxus sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win an argument here.

"Fine, but you have to listen to what I say. If I tell you to run and hide, you do it, understood? No arguing." Natsu nodded.

"Alright. We should probably get you some winter gear, it'll be freezing on the mountain."

"I'll be fine. After Igneel used blood fusion on me, I haven't been affected by the cold at all. Not even in the winter." Laxus raised an eyebrow.

"Alright. If you insist. But if you get cold, let me know, alright?" Natsu nodded and the two set off towards the mountain. As they walked, Laxus told Natsu about how Evergreen, Bickslow and Freed had been since they'd last been together on the first floor, and Natsu told him about Gray, Atlas and baby Romeo and about how apparently Atlas claimed Romeo was the reincarnation of his son. Laxus came to a stop near a sign post that pointed in two different directions on the mountain.

"Which way do we go?" Natsu asked. Laxus looked at the sign and then pulled out his page again before looked at the two snow-covered trails.

"Natsu, can you smell which one has been used more?" Laxus asked. Natsu sniffed in both directions and shrugged.

"The scents don't linger for very long and if anyone has been here, it's been too long for me to smell anything." Laxus sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well…Wyverns are sometimes mistaken as dragons…so I'm going on a limb and gonna guess they smell similar…Can you smell anything like a dragon?" Natsu sniffed again.

"There's something reptilian on the path to the right," Natsu said after a moment. Laxus nodded and moved to head down the right-side trail.

"Stay behind me, understood? And listen to me when I tell you to do something." Natsu nodded. "Good. Now, the mountain is dangerous even without the Wyvern. We need to be quiet or we might cause an avalanche." Natsu nodded again and followed the blonde teen. They traveled in silence, Laxus' eyes shooting to and from anything this Wyvern could be hiding behind. He was also watching the skies in case this thing was going to swoop down on them in a surprise attack. He also knew that on this mountain, the skies darkened roughly as early as they would wintertime in Magnolia and if they spent too long looking for the creature, they wouldn't have enough light to make it back down the mountain. Natsu was sniffing the air every few minutes or so, trying to get a better sense of where this creature was. It wasn't until Laxus decided they should probably stop soon for lunch that he caught sight of a hint that the creature was near…a massive dung dropping.

"Ew!" Natsu groaned as he covered his nose.

"Yea," Laxus agreed, gagging at the smell. If there was anything that could ruin an appetite it was the stench of feces, especially a pile the size of a child.

"Let's go, you doing okay?" Natsu nodded and pulled his scarf up to cover his nose.

"I'll be okay once we get upwind of that thing." Natsu came up and took hold of Laxus' hand and the blonde pulled him along. Not long after, the two saw the path ahead of them covered in tracks, fresh ones by the looks of them.

"Stay behind me." He ordered as he set his pack against the mountain side and pushed Natsu to hide behind it. The pink-haired boy obeyed and peeked out behind the pack as Laxus knelt down in the snow and sniffed at the tracks. These were definitely from the same creature that had left the lovely surprise for them a while back…And it was close. Laxus shot to his feet and began looking around, sniffing the air. A low growl made him snap around to see a massive White Wyvern staring down at him. Or at least, it looked like one. Natsu looked up at the creature and his eyes widened at the sight of the deer leg sticking out of its massive maw.

"Laxus, be careful! That's a rogue Wyvern!" He called out.

"Igneel once told me that rogue Wyverns are like regular Wyverns, but they eat meat and sometimes even mate with dragons!" The Wyvern turned its head towards Natsu and its maw opened, dropping the half-chewed food into the snow. Natsu whimpered and hid behind Laxus' pack a little more. Laxus ran over an put himself in between Natsu and the Wyvern, tiny connections coming together in his mind. Natsu had Igneel's blood in his veins. It made sense that if rouge Wyverns would mate with dragons, that this Wyvern would've noticed how much Natsu must smell like his father.

"Listen here you freak, keep away from him!" Laxus yelled, hunching his shoulders to make himself look bigger. The Wyvern snarled in warning and Laxus found himself snarling back as he pulled off his coat and set it on Natsu's head. The boy pulled it around him and looked between the two snarling males. Igneel had told him of this once after he could understand what it meant to be mates with someone. When two dragons, or in this case a Wyvern and a dragon, both wanted the same female, they'd fight trying to impress her and show which one would make the better mate.

"Wait! That makes me the female here!" Natsu yelled in realization. Laxus' eyes went wide and his cheeks burned as he cleared his throat. As he looked away he caught sight of a cave not too far off. If this was going to come down to a fight, he'd prefer Natsu be in a place where he likely wouldn't get hurt.

"Natsu, there's a cave over there. Go in there and don't come out until I come get you, understand?" Natsu nodded and slung Laxus' pack over his shoulders and the blonde took hold of his hand.

"Come on." He ordered as he took off, pulling Natsu after him.

"Remember, do not come out until I come get you, understand?" Natsu nodded again as Laxus let go of his hand and spun around to face the Wyvern as it came down to the same level as Laxus. Natsu bolted into the cave and continued running until he came to a dead end and the light from outside was so dim he could barely even see his own nose in front of his face. He could hear thunder rolling near the cave's entrance and loud snarls, draconic and Wyvernian. He sat down and pulled his knees to his chest so he could rest his chin on them.

"Laxus…you're gonna be okay…You've gotta win. Otherwise…" Natsu shook his head, banishing the negative thoughts from his mind as he shrugged off the pack and wrapped the coat tighter around himself. To distract himself from the fight outside, he figured he may as well look around at the cave. He pulled a hand from the coat and a flame came to life in his palm, lighting up the entire cave. The walls were bare but the floor was covered in furs and pelts. Along the edge were a number of trinkets and knick-knacks. But resting on the top of a heap of wood was a white egg with blue markings roughly the same height as Natsu's torso and so wide around he could almost wrap his arms around it when he picked it up. He smiled and nuzzled the shell gently before pulling off the coat and wrapping the egg inside it so tenderly, it was as if he were afraid that the slightest jostle might break it open. A roar of pain outside pulled Natsu's attention away from the egg. He bit his lip as he looked from the egg to the entrance before steeling his nerves and deciding to at least check on Laxus. Laxus roared as he slammed a lightning-covered fist into the Wyvern's snout, making it release his shoulder. Blood ran down his arm and dripped off into the snow as Laxus continued attacking with lightning-covered punches. The Wyvern turned his head and roared right in Laxus' ear, sending the teen to his knees and the Wyvern swiped at him with sharp claws, sending him flying into the mountainside.

"Laxus!" The blonde snapped around to see Natsu bolting towards him from the cave's entrance. Laxus saw the Wyvern's tail moving and if it kept going as it was, it was going to hit the pink-haired boy.

"Stay back!" Laxus yelled. Almost as if in slow motion, Laxus watched the Wyvern's tail snap to the side, catching Natsu in the ribs and sending the poor boy flying into the mountainside to collapse into boneless heap in the snow. The Wyvern didn't even turn to look at what it had hit. Laxus' hands clenched into trembling fists as a snarl rolled past his clenched teeth. His shoulders hunched and every muscle in his body tensed. His inner dragon was demanding this creature die, be ripped limb from limb until the only evidence it ever existed was nothing more than shreds of skin, meat, shards of bones and a puddle of blood. A part of Laxus smirked at the idea. It seemed perfect. With a roar, Laxus' entire body became covered in lightning as he launched himself at the Wyvern. His vision went completely red the moment his lightning-covered fingers ripped into the Wyvern's side like paper. When his vision cleared, Laxus found himself standing in the snow, shirt missing, pants torn to ribbons, blood coating his hands, arms, legs, and even his bare chest. His wounded shoulder was throbbing like crazy but that was the extend of the damage on him. The Wyvern had been ripped apart and various bits were scattered around. A number of the scales littered the snow. But that wasn't Laxus' priority at the moment. He bent down in the clean snow and scrubbed the blood off his skin as best he could before rushing to Natsu's side. The boy hadn't moved since he'd been knocked out but he didn't seem to be getting cold at all. If anything, his skin was warming up. Laxus checked his neck and back for any broken bones or slipped disks before checking the rest of his limbs to make sure moving him would be alright. Thankfully, nothing was broken. Laxus scooped the boy into his arms and looked up to check if there would be enough time to get down the mountain. The sun was setting so even if Laxus forgot about his pack and just ran, there wasn't enough time to get down the mountain safely. As much as he knew he needed to get Natsu to a doctor, if only to be checked over, he also knew it wouldn't do any good if he broke his neck trying to get down an unfamiliar mountain in the dark. He sighed and made his way into the cave.

"Mnn…" Natsu groaned as Laxus set him down on the floor before moving over to his pack and beginning to set up camp. Once he had the bed-mat laid out, he moved Natsu onto it and pulled a blanket from his pack before looking around for his coat. Once he saw it was wrapped around an egg, he gently put it near Natsu and covered the boy with the blanket instead. Laxus grabbed some of the wood from the stack Natsu had grabbed the egg from and some dried grasses the Wyvern had dragged in on its claws to start a fire. Once that was done, Laxus went back outside and collected as many of the Wyvern's scales as he could, ending up with quite a haul. If he could sell them when he got back home, he could probably get double, maybe even triple the reward from this job. Upon finishing his task, Laxus went back inside, put the scales in his pack, sat down next to Natsu and began running his fingers through the boy's hair. He was honestly beginning to get worried about the boy. If he'd been knocked out since around lunchtime and it was now sunset, even he went on the old superstition that sunset in these mountains was around 5:00 like it was in the winter, it wasn't good for a kid to be knocked out for such a long time.

"Natsu, listen to me." Laxus had no idea what he was really doing, but he'd seen plenty of people talking to others who'd passed out and for some reason, all those people came around in a few minutes at most. He knew it wasn't realistic but he was willing to try anything at this point.

"You've been out since lunch. I need you to wake up now, understand? I'm worried that you really hurt yourself when you hit your head. There's nothing outside but I can't see inside and there's a ton of stuff that can go wrong in there. I need you to wake up Natsu, please." Laxus swallowed thickly and bit the inside of his cheek before pulling his hand away and forcing himself to turn away from the boy.

"This is all my fault. Seriously, what the heck is wrong with me? This never would have happened if I'd just listened to everyone. My dad had gone crooked, plain and simple yet I defended him. I should've been one of the people who gave him the kick in the pants needed to shove him out the door, then none of this would be happening. Natsu wouldn't be like this if he hadn't been worried about me because I left the dragon at his house without even a note. And I wouldn't have done that if I'd just stopped acting like such an idiot!" Laxus' fist slammed into the stone floor at that thought. His jaw clenched and he snarled at himself.

"Laxus." A warm hand wrapped around Laxus' fist and the blonde turned around to see Natsu pushing himself up to sit.

"Take it easy," Laxus said gently, moving to help the boy.

"I know."

"You feeling alright?" Natsu nodded.

"Yea, I feel fine."

"You sure? I'm serious Natsu, if even the tiniest part of you hurts, you need to tell me right now. Especially if it's your head that hurts." Natsu shook his head before catching sight of Laxus' shoulder. His eyes widened.

"That thing bit you." Laxus looked down at his wound and shook his head, opening his mouth to speak when he felt Natsu crawl into his lap and a warm mouth and tongue begin licking at the bite.

"What are you doing? You don't know what that thing had when it bit me! Stop!" Natsu pulled away for a second and glared at the older teen.

"You're hurt and I'm fine. Let me take care of you. Aside from that, dragons are immune to lots of diseases Wyverns carry. Igneel told me. So I'll be fine. You said I've been sleeping since lunch and if that thing bit you before it knocked me out, then I don't want to know what you could be coming down with already! So let me clean it at least." With that, Natsu went back to work and Laxus relaxed some, letting the boy do as he wished. After a while, Natsu pulled back and began shifting through the pack until he pulled out a canteen, some jerky and bandages.

"Hungry?" Laxus asked as Natsu wrapped the bandages around his shoulder.

"A bit. I haven't eaten all day." Laxus smiled some as Natsu tied off the bandage. The blonde reached over and handed the biggest chunk of jerky and the canteen to Natsu, who took a swig before passing back the canteen and beginning to gnaw on the jerky.

"So tomorrow, we'll head back to town and pick up our reward before heading back home. Does that sound alright?" Laxus asked before taking a strip of jerky for himself. Natsu nodded.

"Hey, did you see the egg?" the pink-haired boy asked excitedly. Laxus chuckled.

"Yea, I saw it. What do you want to do with it?" he asked.

"Hatch it! What else are you supposed to do with a dragon's egg?" Natsu said with a chuckle. Laxus joined in, pulling Natsu into his side tenderly, sending up a silent prayer of thanks to whatever deity had made Natsu someone he would have never expected to forgive him the way this boy had and accept him.

"I guess that makes sense," Laxus said as Natsu stood up and began looking around the cave a little more.

"Have you looked around here yet?" Natsu asked.

"No. Why?" Laxus asked as he came over and squatted down next to the boy as he began looking through the trinkets and poking at a few.

"Because Igneel once told me that when dragons or Wyverns fight, the loser gives up territory. And guessing by the smell

coming off of you, that poor guy doesn't even have anything to claim territory with, does he? So technically speaking, this cave and everything in it belongs to you." Laxus' eyes widened some as he sat back.

"Alright then. So how about you and I go through this tonight? And whatever money we make off it goes right to you. After all, if you're going to hatch a dragon, I'm willing to bet feeding the thing is going to cost a fortune." Natsu looked at the massive pile of trinkets and then to the egg.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep." Laxus said with a nod. Natsu smiled, went back over to the egg and set it down beside him as he retook his spot by Laxus and the massive pile. The blonde smiled and the two began sorting through the massive pile of gemstones, necklaces, jewels, ancient royal jewelries, ancient weapons, ancient staff of fire, ancient staff of lightning, ancient staff of metal, ancient staff of light and rings, setting each item into a pile off to the side depending on what it was. A few minutes into the work, a thought made Laxus pause. Natsu noticed.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I only have my pack, my pants' pockets and the pockets in my coat. Even if we stuff them all to the brim, there's not enough space for everything." Natsu smiled.

"Actually, I know something with more than enough space." Laxus raised an eyebrow as Natsu stood up and went over to a wall.

"What are you doing?" Natsu bit his lip, suddenly feeling a little nervous.

"Promise you won't freak out, okay?" Laxus nodded and Natsu took a deep breath before reaching out with his magic power and opening the door to his Abyss Room. Laxus' eyes widened and his first instinct was to leap back. But he'd promised he wouldn't freak out so he sat as calmly as he could.

"That's an Abyss Room, right?" he said, trying to keep his voice even.

"Yea. Uncle Atlas told me not to show a lot of people. But I figured that maybe we could also store your pack and the egg in here while we're going down the mountain tomorrow." Laxus smiled and stood up, pulling Natsu into a hug.

"Good idea. And hey, I promise I won't tell anyone about this place, alright?" Natsu nodded and hugged Laxus around the middle.

"Let's get back to work! We've got a massive pile to go through and all night ahead of us," Natsu said. Laxus chuckled and the two went back to work. Time flew by and from time to time, one of the boys would take the piles from the cave floor and set them into the Abyss Room. By the time they'd finished, the sun was beginning to peek out over the mountains. Laxus packed up his gear and he and Natsu stashed the massive pack and the egg inside with the treasures. As Laxus scanned the cave for anything they'd missed, Natsu summoned a new shirt from one of the drawers and smiled to himself as he left the room.

"I think that's everything." Laxus said with a nod.

"Almost." Natsu said as he handed Laxus the shirt. The blonde smiled at him and pulled him into another hug.

"Thanks buddy,. he said as he unfolded the garment and pulled it on. It looked like his usual yellow t-shirt but instead of being plain, this one had a red dragon on the front sitting on orange flames and white lightning bolts shooting from its mouth.

"Looks good." Natsu commented as Laxus looked the shirt over quickly.

"Ready to go home?" Natsu nodded happily and the two set off. The climb down the mountain was relatively easy. Since neither boy had anything to really carry, Natsu made a sort of chasing game of it a few moments into the walk by making a snowball and waiting until he was in just the right place to be able to throw it and smack Laxus in the back of the head with it. The blonde's reaction had been almost instantly to retaliate with another snowball. Natsu and Laxus would switch off between one or the other to run down the mountain while being pelted with snowballs before reaching fresh snow to make another batch for their own arsenal until they reached the bottom, both soaked to the bone, laughing and gasping for air as they collapsed onto their backs.

"That was fun!" Natsu called as he forced himself to sit up. Laxus chuckled as he did the same and brushed some remaining snow from his hair.

"We'll have to plan a trip here or find a place near Magnolia to do this in the wintertime. Sound good bud?" Natsu nodded.

"So what now?"

"First, let's catch our breath. Second, we should probably get my pack out of your Room so we can sell the scales in town. Then third, we get on a train and head for home. No doubt your uncle's worried about you by now." Natsu nodded, slightly nervous about going home now. He'd left without sparing a thought towards his uncle or baby Romeo. He'd been gone a whole day and hadn't even left a note to say he'd be okay or where he was going or doing. No doubt Atlas would be worried sick at this point.

"Yea. We gotta get back quickly." Laxus noticed the tone Natsu was using and it made him a little wary.

"Is everything okay?" Natsu shook his head.

"I left without saying a word to Uncle Atlas…Or anyone for that matter." Laxus nodded before he stood up and pulled Natsu to his feet.

"Then in that case we'll just go home. There's some people in Magnolia who'll pay for the scales later. Right now, we need to get you back home so Atlas won't have to worry, alright?" Natsu nodded and opened up the Abyss Room again so Laxus could grab his wallet from his pack as well as one of the Wyvern scales to show his client as proof of the job's completion. Then they went back into town to find the client, a local businessman who ran the tours on the mountain. Natsu's focus was entirely on getting home though, so he didn't enter with Laxus. Instead he waited outside and tried thinking of what he was going to say to his uncle when he got back home. Natsu saw someone was opening a store and needing a Wyvern's body to do his work and Natsu thought of the dead body parts of the Wyvern that he saw as he and Laxus was leaving the cave and the body had showed up in front of the shop and the owner saw Natsu and went over to him and gave eighty trillion jewels for the body and went back to the body to start working on it. Natsu looked at the money and he put it into his wallet that he got from his Abyss Room and put the money in it before he put the wallet back in and closed the Abyss Room.

"Natsu…" Natsu jumped at the sound of his name, only to see Laxus standing at the door, looking down at him in concern.

"I'm fine." The pink-haired boy assured.

"If you insist. We're paid so we can leave now if you're ready." Natsu nodded and the two headed for the train station. Natsu was too preoccupied with his upcoming discussion with his uncle to realize when the train began moving and Laxus was too worried about Natsu to realize he wasn't feeling motion sick at all. Gray sighed miserably as he poked at the food on the plate in front of him. Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen had come back to the table he normally sat at with Natsu, Atlas and Baby Romeo but with Laxus avoiding the table like the plague since Ivan's banishment and now Natsu's disappearance, no one really felt the mood to be catching up. Atlas was drumming his fingers on the table. He'd told Makarov of Natsu's disappearance and the Master had reported it to the Magic Counsel but aside from the few Rune Knights Atlas had run into and those Dark Guild Wizards that were now all rotting in jail, only members of the Guild and Ivan were aware of what Natsu was and his potential importance. Makarov had said it was highly unlikely that Natsu had been stolen away by Ivan so soon after Ivan's expulsion from the Guild but Atlas couldn't help but feel like the man was responsible in some way.

"Atlas?" Gray spoke up, noticing that Romeo was beginning to scowl and his cheeks were turning red. The man looked down at his son and held the boy to his shoulder before getting up and bouncing him somewhat.

"He's worried about his cousin is all." Atlas said gently, patting the baby's back as he rocked from side to side. Gray got up on the table and poked Romeo's chubby cheek.

"I'm worried about him too buddy. But don't worry too much. This is Natsu we're talking about. He'll be okay. Okay?" The moment Gray finished, the doors flew open and Natsu came running in, his newly acquired egg held high above his head and a wide grin on his face. Laxus walked in behind him, smiling gently and with his coat draped over his shoulders.

"We've made it back alive!" Natsu cheered as he raced to his usual table and set the egg on top before taking his usual seat next to Gray. The entire table was staring at him with slack jaws and wide eyes, a few people's jaws dropped further when Laxus came over and sat down next to Natsu, mussing his hair affectionately. Atlas handed Romeo to Freed and moved over to Natsu, grabbing the boy by the arms and turning him around to face him.

"Are you hurt?" Atlas asked. Natsu shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Atlas. Laxus left the glass dragon I gave him on our front step and I chased after him. I know I should've said something to you and I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"You chased after him?"

"I went on a job." Laxus jumped in, earning him a slight glare from Atlas.

"I thought I made it very clear that-"

"I know sir. And I had no business bringing Natsu on this job. But I'm going to say this much. If it weren't for him, I definitely would've been killed out there so I owe him. And I also wanted to apologize, not only to you and Natsu, but also to Romeo, Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen and Gray, for the way I acted after my dad's expulsion. I hope you guys can forgive me at least someday." Atlas nodded and sighed as he stood up.

"Well…what's done is done. And there's no changing it. If Natsu managed to hold his own on this job, then maybe I should consider letting him go on some more jobs on his own. But in the future, I want to be notified if you're going on a job, understood young man?"

"Yes Uncle Atlas." Natsu said with a nod. Romeo began kicking and squirming and gurgling angrily, making Freed hold him away a bit.

"Um…Atlas?" The Rune Mage said. The former dragon came over and picked up his son, already knowing the baby needed a good changing.

"Thank you Freed. And thank you Laxus, for bringing my nephew home." Laxus smiled and wrapped an arm around Natsu's shoulders playfully.

* * *

Annie: If some readers are confused on what had just happened with the Wyvern's body, Natsu teleported to the store without knowing it. Here's my guess: Igneel is a dragon king and he has fire dragons to look after, right? What if he knows Teleport Magic and he uses it to get to those that are badly hurt or wounded and teleported them back to the fire dragon healers. So with Igneel blood fusing his blood with Natsu, Natsu had learned Teleport Magic as every king or queen of their elements know it to help their own people who are hurt or wounded. It's just a guess.

Just2protect: Ja Ne.


	9. Chapter 9 Part 1

Annie: Hey, everyone.

Just2protect: Short AN.

Annie: This chapter going to be split into two then the second book is going to be going out.

Both: Enjoy. ^-^

* * *

"…Axus…Laxus…" The referenced blonde groaned and swatted absently at the noise. Whoever it was could wait. He wanted to go back to sleep and back to a very pleasant dream. A slam on the desk had him all but jumping out of his seat, half-asleep, and looking around for the source of the noise. Freed was standing beside the desk, a thick book in hand that had been slammed down on the desk where Laxus had fallen asleep while organizing some of the Guild's paperwork.

"What's up?" Laxus yawned as he stretched, his back protesting the action after being bent over the desk for so long. "And at that…why are you still here? It's gotta be past midnight by now."

"Indeed it is. We didn't see you yesterday and so when you didn't come down today, Natsu started getting worried and I decided to come up here and see if you were here. Thank goodness I did."

"Wait a second…" Laxus said, still trying to shake the cobwebs from his brain.

"Today's Friday…right?"

"No, it's Saturday." Freed corrected.

"What? I only fell asleep a few minutes ago…" Freed shook his head as he set the book down on the floor before he began looking at the massive stacks of paperwork on Laxus' desk.

"What in the world is all of this?" Freed asked.

"Umm…Some invoices for repairs…letters from the counsel demanding written apologies…drafts of said apologies…final letters of apology…tax records for the d financial stuff like that." Freed cast Laxus a curious glance.

"And why are you here…in your grandfather's office…with the Guild's financial records?"

"I…I figured I should start being a bit more active in the Guild's management. I mean…something happens to Gramps, I'm next in line to inherit the Guild so I can't be caught off guard. If I'm going to take over one day, might as well get some practice while I can make some screw-ups." Freed nodded, although he could tell there was something Laxus wasn't telling him. Despite having slept for a whole day, Laxus still had dark marks under his eyes, his clothes were rumbled more so than usual, and his hair was in disarray.

"When was the last time you went home?" Freed asked, part of him already suspecting he wouldn't like the answer. Laxus didn't answer. In all honesty, he hadn't gone back to his house since he and Natsu had returned from their job. He didn't want to go back to that place where his father had lived, where a murderer had lived, where someone who'd driven him to hurting one of his dearest friends had lived.

"Um…Well.." Fred groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You do realize that you can't live in the Guild Hall, correct?" Laxus shrugged.

"I've managed it for a week now. But I'm not going back to Ivan's house," the blonde said firmly as he stood up and moved a few papers around.

"Then why don't you just tear the place down and build another home?" Freed asked.

"I've considered that. But it would be no different than what I'm doing here and now. And that place can rot for all I care right now," Laxus snapped. Freed sighed and moved towards the door.

"You'll want to come downstairs soon. Natsu's beginning to get agitated." Laxus' head shot up as Freed shut the door behind him. The blonde ran a hand through his hair and reached into the space under the desk for his legs where he'd stashed his pack. He quickly changed into a fresh shirt and jeans. Once he came to the railing of the second floor, his signature smirk found its way to his lips as he saw Natsu kicking his feet and looking around nervously. Gray was sitting next to him, trying to calm the boy down some.

"Oi! Natsu! Gray!" The boys looked up at the teen as he jerked his head back, gesturing for them to come up the stairs. The boys looked at each other before Natsu hopped off the bench and raced up the stairs. Gray shook his head for a second before following the pink-haired boy. The second Natsu was on the second floor, he launched himself into Laxus' chest and the teen burst into laughter as he wrapped his arms around the boy.

"AH!" Mira cried from the first floor. Laxus looked down, ready to shock the girl if she said anything offensive or to make Natsu uncomfortable. But when he looked down, he suddenly wished he never had. Mira was dressed in her usual outfit but was looking up at them with hearts practically swimming in her eyes and drool coming off her bottom lip.

"What?!"

"I ship!" Mira cried. Laxus groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. Natsu buried his reddening face in Laxus' shoulder. Laxus turned his attention to the boy and moved to sit down on the long couch the second floor had that was well out of the line of vision of the first floor. Gray came over and sat down next to the teen.

"Where were you yesterday?" Natsu asked, his arms tightening around Laxus' neck.

"Did I worry you? Sorry bud. I was working up here," Laxus said gently as he rubbed Natsu's back gently.

"You were working? On what?" Gray asked as Laxus' fingers touched the ends of Natsu's ponytail, which was now beginning the reach his mid-back.

"Just some stuff. And I wanted to show you guys the second floor. So I had to make it presentable. What do you think?" The boys looked around before Natsu buried his face in Laxus' shoulder again.

"This couch is comfier than the benches downstairs," Gray commented.

"That's because S-Class missions are tougher than the regular missions," said a new voice that made all the boys turn and look. Standing at the stairs was a young man with black hair held back in a low ponytail, dark brown eyes and a slight tan dressed in a black shirt, dark jeans and combat boots with a pack slung over his shoulder.

"Daemon," Laxus said as he stood up, setting Natsu down behind him.

"Who's that?" Natsu asked as the boy grabbed onto one of Laxus' legs and peered at the new addition to the room from behind the older teen. Gray moved behind the two as Daemon narrowed his eyes at the younger Wizards, more particularly on Natsu. The boy shifted to hide a little more behind Laxus as the man's eyes looked him over in a way that made him very uncomfortable. Laxus looked down at the boy and reached a hand back to gently run his fingers through Natsu's hair, trying to reassure the boy as he shot a glare at Daemon. Gray looked nervously between his friends and Daemon before reaching forward to hold Natsu's hand. The other boy latched onto his friend tightly. Gray could feel Natsu shaking a little.

"Natsu, Gray, this is Daemon. He's one our other S-Class Wizards. Daemon, this is Gray Fullbuster and-"

"Natsu Dragneel. I know. What are they doing here? Your team is one thing, but these kids-"

"Are joining my team once they can. I figured if they would be spending time up here, they might as well see what it's like. Natsu, Gray, why don't you two go downstairs and find Gray's clothes, alright?" Natsu looked up at Laxus, then to Daemon then bit his lip.

"I actually have to go take care of the egg…" Natsu said before he and Gray headed down the stairs. Daemon glared at them until they were back on the first floor. Gray went back to the table with Atlas and baby Romeo while Natsu headed out the doors.

"What the heck was that all about Dreyar?" Daemon asked, a little too calmly for Laxus' liking. The blond walked over to the railing, keeping his eye on the raven-haired man.

"I told you-"

"Not that! I meant how that Natsu brat was clinging to you. And the way you were treating him…" Laxus shot his own glare at Daemon as the man set his pack down and came over until he was practically in Laxus' face. Laxus glanced to the side and caught sight of Mirajane's little sister, Lisanna, heading out the door. Something deep inside him made a low sound. The only thing his memory could compare it to was the Rogue Wyvern he and Natsu had fought. But, at the same time, it wasn't. This sound was deeper, more regal. His hand shot to his pocket, to where the tiny glass dragon was hidden away.

"I fell asleep at Gramps' desk doing some paperwork. I slept through yesterday and Natsu got worried. That's all." Daemon rolled his eyes.

"Look, just last year, I was a teenager too. I had urges. But if this homo-act you're putting up is some kind of teenage phase, get over it! If you're pent up, find a girl to handle it. If you've got a thing for kids Natsu's age, get Erza or Mira." Before Laxus could even realize what was going on, his fist flew, lightning sparking to life as his arm moved and smashed into Daemon's cheek, sending him flying back into the couch, knocking it over.

"I'll see you around. But if you ever say something like that again, I won't hold back, got it?" Laxus growled before he headed towards the door, snarling under his breath. Freed came up to him and grabbed his arm, getting the blonde's attention.

"This may not be the best of times, but when you and Natsu were upstairs, Mirajane came over and told me that her sister, Lisanna, had gotten angry when you invited Natsu up. Just to inform you." Laxus nodded before Freed released his arm and the blonde stormed out of the Hall. He didn't care where he was going, only that he was putting distance between Daemon and himself. There had once been a time when he had looked up to Daemon, just like he had Ivan. But Daemon had just lost all his respect. The deep sound, almost like a growl, rumbled deep inside him. His hand went back to his pocket, reaching in and feeling the cool glass ornament. The being growling inside him stirred his thoughts as Daemon's words echoed in his mind about Mira and Erza. He had nothing against the girls. They fought a lot, but Laxus knew there were plenty of times they could be civil…to a degree. But neither of them arose any special feelings in him. If anything, he could only see them as little sisters, them and Cana. Lisanna was another topic entirely. Usually, the girl didn't talk to him at all, and if something didn't go her way, she tended to get rather hostile about it.

"It's been fun playing house with you." Lisanna's voice snapped Laxus out of his thoughts. He realized he'd completely left the city and was now standing in front of a few trees with branches clustered together. On top of those branches was a huge hut with a rope ladder hanging from the opening making the door. He sniffed the air and smiled when he realized Natsu's scent was everywhere.

"Um…yea…I guess," Natsu said inside the little house. Laxus heard the rustling of dried grasses but they were fading marginally from the door, as if someone was moving away from it. Then the sound repeated on the other side, nearing the door.

"Maybe someday I can be your real wife?" Without thinking, Laxus grabbed the ladder and all but yanked himself up over each rung until he came to the door. Natsu was holding the egg away from Lisanna as if she'd threatened it and her cheeks were bright red. Natsu swallowed nervously.

"Lisanna!" Laxus said to make his presence known as he pulled himself up so his upper chest was visible. Natsu let out a tiny breath in relief.

"Yes?" she asked expectantly. Laxus could all but hear 'I'm in the middle of something so make it fast or get lost' in her tone. Natsu noticed it too and held the egg against him a little tighter.

"Your siblings are looking for you," Laxus said jabbing his head to silently tell the white-haired child to leave. She pouted and glared before crawling out of the space.

"Fine. I'll go back. But Natsu, I want your answer when I see you again!" she said before climbing down the ladder. Laxus watched her leave, that deep growling noise ringing in his ears as he did. He turned back to Natsu and smiled.

"May I come in?" he asked. Natsu loosened his grip on the egg and sat down, nodding. Laxus pulled himself in. The roof was made of branches and was high enough that his hair brushed against it as he stood up straight on his feet. The floor and walls were made of wooden planks. The floor was covered in dried grasses to offer some form of comfort and the half furthest from the door also was covered in smooth dark stones that radiated heat through the tiny abode.

"What do you think? I built it all myself," Natsu said nervously, wrapping his scarf around his hand anxiously. Laxus smiled and placed a hand on Natsu's head.

"I think it's awesome. And when you find Igneel again, he'll be honored to have such an inventive son." Natsu beamed brightly.

"You really think so?" Laxus nodded and Natsu all but leapt at him, throwing his arms around the teen's chest and nuzzling into the tiny space under Laxus' chin where Natsu's own head just seemed to fit perfectly. Laxus smiled and petted Natsu's back affectionately before looking over at the egg, now nestled comfortably on a small pile of blankets.

"So, have you thought of a name for the little guy?"

"Not yet. Not until it's hatched. I mean, I can't give a boy's name to a girl or a girl's name to a boy. And the name should fit the little guy. Like if I chose a boy's name that sounds all big and muscly but the little guy turns out to be really small, it doesn't fit." Laxus nodded, understanding.

"Do you press your ear against it at all? Some parents will put their ears against the baby to see if they can hear it inside." Natsu's eyes widened as he pressed his ear against the egg. His face split in a wide grin.

"Laxus! Come listen!" Laxus moved over and pulled off his headphones before pressing his ear to the egg's shell. He quieted his breathing and a gentle humming sound came from the dark depths of the inside. It almost sounded like a purr. The shell trembled a little and he could hear something moving around. Natsu pulled away, beaming brightly as he petted the shell.

"Sounds excited to come out." Laxus said with a warm smile.

"Sure does." Natsu smiled at the fellow dragon slayer before he yawned widely.

"Why don't you get some sleep? Being a parent is a lot of work and it gets tiring. I'll keep watch if you like." Natsu nodded before moving the egg away from him a little and lighting a fire in between his palms and setting them on the stones, warming them for his bed. Very little time, Natsu was curled up on his little nest of hot rocks, snoring away without a care in the world. Laxus picked up a rock near the edge and warmed it in his own hands before setting it under the egg and draping his coat over the shell. Then he turned his attention to Natsu and smiled when the boy snuggled into the warm rocks. He couldn't help reaching over and brushing some of the pale-red hair back. The blonde pulled off his shirt and folded up before tucking it under Natsu's head. Natsu smiled in his sleep and snuggled into the makeshift pillow but didn't wake up.

"Hello?" Laxus instantly snapped to attention and slunk to the entrance on his kneels, only to relax once he saw Atlas standing near the ladder.

"Oh, you're up there?" Laxus nodded.

"Just wanted to ask you if you'd be willing to watch Natsu while I went on a job."

"Wait, what about your injuries and Romeo?"

"Master will be watching Romeo for a bit. And Porlyusica has given me leave to do some small jobs so long as someone goes with me. Macao's drinking buddy, Wakaba, volunteered to come with me." Laxus nodded again and sat up straight, revealing the mark on his chest. The dragon's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"Atlas?" Laxus asked.

"When did you get that?" Atlas breathed. Laxus looked down at the mark and sighed.

"On our job. It wasn't there the when we went to fight the monster, but it was there when I went to bed the night I got home. Why?"

"Do you have any idea what that mark signifies?" Laxus looked down and shrugged. Atlas gestured for the teen to come closer. Laxus looked back at Natsu and the egg and slowly eased his legs out and simply stood on the ladder where Natsu could still see the back of his head if he woke up. Atlas raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"I told Natsu I'd keep watch. If he wakes up and I'm gone, he'll think I just left."

"That's an effect of that mark on your chest," Atlas said. Laxus looked down again and poked at the dragon.

"Is it a curse?"

"No. Hardly. It's a dragon mating symbol. They're unique to each dragon family. Basically that mark will appear on anyone destined to be with you and Natsu."

"To be with…as in…"  
"Happy family and mating? Also known as intercourse, or sex? Bingo, kiddo." Laxus' eyes widened.

"It'll only appear on dragons or dragon slayers or their Mates after physical contact."

"But Natsu and I are both guys. Aside from that, he's five years younger than me. Isn't it a little screwed up to just suddenly be attracted to a 13-year-old kid in that way?" Laxus objected, knowing he should be panicking a little, but yet, oddly, he felt at peace with the whole idea.

"Gender and age doesn't matter with dragons. We can literally change between internal anatomies as needed. So since there's more male Dragons Slayers in the world than female, I'd says it's safe to say Natsu's gonna be having the babies."

"WHAT?!" Laxus yelled, now starting to feel panicked.

"Yes. Babies. Look kid, it happens when you put your-"

"I've already had that talk!"

"Stop yelling or you'll wake up Natsu," Atlas scolded gently. Laxus took a deep breath and relaxed a little.

"For now, just worry about keeping him and that egg safe. I'm counting on you." With that, Atlas left. Laxus sighed again and pulled himself back into the nest. He sat at the entrance for a moment, thinking over what Atlas had said before looking back at Natsu. The kid was still asleep, thankfully.

"Mates, huh? And just how am I supposed to tell him that, old dragon? It would be just way too weird." Lost in his thoughts, Laxus didn't notice his own body laying down behind Natsu's and pulling the boy's back into his chest before he fell asleep. Once Laxus was asleep, Natsu opened his eyes and rolled over, having heard every word Atlas and Laxus had exchanged. He smiled and snuggled into his Mate and happily fell asleep again.

"Hey, Natsu!" Laxus called as he neared the hut. Natsu popped his head out the door and his face lit up brightly at the sight of the fish hanging over Laxus' shoulder and the boar being dragged by the foot behind him.

"Wow, that's so much!"

"I hope you're hungry bud," Laxus chuckled as he handed the fish up to Natsu before climbing up himself, pulling the boar in behind him. Natsu's grin was so wide, it looked like his face may split. His mouth began watering when he realized that all the meat had already been cooked, most likely by Laxus' lightning, and the smell coming from them had him trembling in his seat.

"Did you already cook it?" Natsu asked.

"Yea. Dig in, go ahead. I gotta change my pants," Laxus said as he began taking off his belt, making sure to keep the wet pants outside as he shifted around, pulling off the cold garment. Natsu watched the older teen struggle and covered a giggle. Laxus looked over his shoulder as he draped his pant over a nearby branch to dry and reached for his pack to get a fresh pair.

"Don't worry, I like the view," Natsu said teasingly as he pulled off some boar meat and stuffed it in his mouth with a grin. Laxus shot him a playful glare as he pulled the new pants on over his boxers and then turned to Natsu. The boy squeaked and backed up until his back hit the wall as Laxus began crawling over on all fours with an almost predatory glint in his eyes.

"You laughed at me, didn't you?" he asked. Natsu shook his head quickly, trying to hide the laugh that was aching to be let out.

"No!" Natsu squeaked.

"I think you did," Laxus teased. Natsu threw his arms up to cover his face.

"I submit!" Laxus grabbed Natsu's wrists in one hand and yanked the boy into his lap.

"You're not getting out of it that easily," Laxus said as he held Natsu's wrists up and his free hand began mercilessly tickling the boy's belly, armpits, any spot that would pull a giggle from the child. Natsu kicked, screamed, struggled in Laxus' hold, did everything in his power to escape the teenager's tickle attack, only find his struggling to be for naught.

"I give! Submit! Mercy!" Natsu cried breathlessly between giggles. Laxus smiled and stopped tickling as he pulled the panting boy into a warm hug and nuzzled his cheek into the soft hair atop his head. His life since "moving in" with Natsu and the egg seemed to be nothing but happiness. He'd begun the deconstruction of his house, determined to rebuild it brand new so that if he, Natsu and the egg outgrew the tree-house, they could move right into the house. It really felt like the past was beginning to be left behind. Natsu had mostly stayed in the nest with the egg, save for a few hours a day when they'd decide to go to the Guild to show it off to everyone. Laxus would spend some time in the river or woods, hunting for food. His instincts drove him to provide for the little boy who bore a Mate mark identical to Laxus' on his lower left abdomen. Laxus had been surprised to say the least when he found out that Natsu had heard everything Atlas had said about being Mates and was perfectly fine with being with Laxus. News of them being Mates had gone over well with their friends, save for Lisanna who took the time to explain to Natsu that some people referred to close friends as "mate" and how every man was supposed to marry a woman and have babies. For half a second, Laxus was half-tempted to throw the white haired girl into a wall and he growled a warning at Mirajane to keep her sister from Natsu.  
"Alright. I forgive you for laughing at me," Laxus teased before reaching back to the boar and ripping out a handful to chew on. Natsu snuggled into Laxus' chest as he panted for breath.

"Don't tickle me like that again," Natsu complained as he pouted slightly. Laxus almost choked on his meat, his inner dragon snarling at him, demanding he remedy the situation and turn Natsu's pout into a smile, immediately.

"Sorry bud," Laxus said gently, rubbing circles into the boy's back.

"I forgive you," Natsu said with a smile. Laxus' hand froze before he began tugging on one of the loong strands of Natsu's hair.

"You should think about cutting your hair soon. If not, people are gonna think you're a girl."

"Uncle Atlas has long hair. No one thinks he's a girl."

"Because he's fully grown. But you're still growing up so having longer hair makes you look like a little girl," Laxus explained. Natsu shook his head, tugging his hair from Laxus' fingers. The two dug into the boar meat, talking about anything and everything that came to mind. But soon enough, Natsu was curling up into Laxus' chest, his belly full and his eyelids heavy . Laxus chuckled as he began pulling apart one of the fish he'd caught. He nuzzled against Natsu for a second before turning to the egg and moving the huge mass of blankets he and Natsu had covered the unborn creature with over the past couple weeks. He twisted to grab his coat off his pack and gently threw it over the protected shell, hoping whatever warmth he'd transferred while wearing it to the Guild still remained. Satisfied that his Mate was full and content and the baby was safe and warm, Laxus let himself relax and drift off to sleep.

"Laxus! Laxus!" Natsu cried as he shook his Mate to alertness. At first the blonde wanted to groan and insist on another five minutes. But then he took a deep breath of air through his nose. Natsu was emitting a scent similar to one every animal he'd caught and they'd eaten gave off just before he killed it: panic. The blonde's eyes snapped open and he latched onto Natsu's arms as he sat up, looking the boy over for injury.

"Are you hurt?" he asked. Natsu shook his head before glancing to the side. Laxus followed his gaze and his grip on Natsu lessened as the reason for the boys' panic settled on him. The egg was gone. The blankets were pulled back and Laxus' coat was draped over his one foot.

"It's gone…" Natsu said, lip quivering as his voice cracked. Laxus pulled the boy into his arms and held him tightly. He sniffed the air again and snarled. Someone had come in. He couldn't recognize the scent right then and there. It was covered in mud, grasses and river water.

"We'll find it. Don't worry. It's our kid so it'll be alright. We'll find it," Laxus assured as he gently began pulling them towards the door. The blonde grabbed his coat and draped it over his shoulders before Natsu wrapped his arms around his Mate's neck and his legs around the elder's waist so Laxus could move down the ladder. Laxus continued whispering assurances of finding the egg and making the thief pay as he continued to follow the scent of mud and river water until the blonde almost ran smack into the front doors of the Guild Hall.

"Someone from the Guild?" Natsu asked as Laxus set him down.

"Maybe. Maybe Atlas knows something about the egg we don't," Laxus suggested, although the second those words passed his lips he himself was doubting them. If Atlas knew something of eggs and how to properly raise one, why wouldn't he have told them earlier? Natsu tugged on his hand and the two went inside. Only Gray, Cana, the Strauss siblings and Freed were there at the time and all were staring at them with wide eyes. Natsu ran over to Gray.

"Gray. Have you seen our egg?" The question made everyone's eyes widen.

"Wait! The egg's missing?!" Gray asked, standing up and tossing his shirt away so it landed on Lisanna's head.

"That's awful!" Cana cried.

"You sure it didn't hatch?" Elfman asked.

"It didn't hatch. Someone broke into our tree-house and stole it while Laxus and I were sleeping," Natsu pressed. Freed looked over at the blonde Dragon Slayer, who nodded solemnly.

"You sure Natsu didn't just eat it?" Mira sneered. Natsu turned to the white-haired girl as she smirked, looking rather proud of herself.

"I wouldn't!" Natsu cried.

"Why not? It's just an egg? If you want another one, I can find one in a chicken coop for ya to hatch! Ba-gawk!" she mocked, moving her arms like chicken wings. Natsu grit his teeth as tears began forming in the corners of his eyes. He hiccuped quietly, but Mira and Laxus both heard it.

"That's quite enough Mirajane," Freed scolded gently.

"Why? Cause the baby's gonna cry?!"

"Mira!" Laxus snarled as he grabbed the white-haired mage by the scruff of her neck and lifted her right off her feet. She started kicking and scratching at his arm.

"What would you do if it was Lisanna or Elfman who was missing?" Mira went still and stared wide-eyed at the blonde mage.

"All we want to know is if anyone has seen the egg."

"I saw Daemon bring in something in a large crate earlier," Elfman offered, earning him a look from Laxus and Natsu.

"He took it into a kitchen then left after a few minutes. It might still be there. He was looking pretty frustrated when he left," Cana finished. Natsu sprinted full speed to the kitchen and Laxus dropped Mira before following his mate.  
By the time he got to the kitchen, Natsu had thrown himself onto the egg and was nuzzling his face into the shell as he cried silently. Laxus came up behind him and wrapped an arm around the two, relief flooding him that the egg was unharmed, despite the number of hammers on the floor around it.

"Dang this thing must be tough," Laxus breathed, running his hand over the blue markings on the shell.

"Yea…it really is our kid," Natsu breathed. Laxus smiled before picking Natsu and the egg up. He summoned his lightning and the small family shot through the ceiling and landed back in front of the tree-house. Laxus didn't say a word. He simply climbed up the ladder and set Natsu down on the pile of blankets. The pink-haired Dragon Slayer simply huddled into the egg. Laxus pulled some blankets over the egg and Natsu before Laxus pulled the two into his lap and wrapped the rest of the blankets and his coat around his tiny family. The rest of the day, the two Slayers were all but silent. They ate the cooled leftovers of their dinner the night before whenever they felt the need but otherwise, no one moved. It was almost sunset when Natsu readjusted his arms around the egg and rubbed his cheek against the shell. Laxus looked down worriedly and rubbed his hand on Natsu's head, trying to comfort him. But it wasn't easy. The egg hadn't made a sound or movement inside its shell since they'd gotten back.

"Laxus…do you think it's okay?" he asked. Laxus moved over to Natsu and pulled him and the egg into his lap.

"I really hope so. Maybe the little guy's just sleeping." Natsu snuggled into Laxus' chest and the elder pulled his coat around his tiny family.

"Hey! Bolt-face!" Laxus snapped around to the door and sniffed the air, only to snarl as Mira's scent came to him. Natsu curled around the egg a little more as Laxus set them down and slipped out the door to face the angry she-devil as she stormed towards him.

"What do you want demon?" he asked.

"Where is she?!" she shrieked.

"Where's who?" Laxus asked.

"Lisanna! She disappeared a while ago and you're the only one that threatened her!" Mira screeched. Laxus' eyes narrowed and sparks of lightning shot off his arm.

"I was using her as an example to try and make you sympathize with Natsu losing the egg, not trying to threaten your sister! Only a real coward would threaten a kid like Lisanna."

"Right, so where is she?!"

"You want to start something demon?" Laxus asked, his lightning arcing around him.

"I'll say it once. I don't know where your sister is, nor do I really care. Right now, I have more important things to think about than how badly I'm going to hurt you if we fight."

"Laxus…" Natsu whined nervously.

"It's alright Natsu. I've got this." Natsu didn't want Laxus to fight Mira, not right then and there. Mira obviously didn't understand that this was not the appropriate time to pick a fight with Laxus. His inner dragon was irritated enough by the egg's disappearance earlier that day and Mira's presence was not going to help in the slightest. A slight noise behind him caught Natsu's attention. He whirled around and saw a large crack appear in the egg's side. His eyes widened in horror.

"Laxus! The egg!" Laxus whirled around and shot up the rope ladder, pulling himself into the tree-house in one fluid motion.  
"What's wrong?"

"It's cracked…" Natsu said as he looked back at the egg. Laxus looked as the egg moved and another crack appeared, a tiny chip falling out.

"It's hatching…" Laxus breathed.

"Hey! Don't ignore me Bolt-Face!" Mira screamed as she neared the ladder. Laxus hooked the rungs with his foot and pulled the ladder inside the tree-house, much to Mira's disdain.

"Go away Demon!" Laxus barked as Natsu crawled over to the egg and another crack appeared, more tiny chips falling free.

"Not until I-"

"Laxus was with me all day Mirajane! He couldn't have done anything! Now go away!" Natsu roared as another crack appeared and a larger chunk fell away. Mira growled as she stormed off to find her sister. Another chunk fell away. And another and another until the egg practically collapsed. Right in the center of the shards was a tiny blue creature with white tips on the ends of his ears, a long tail with a white tip, white tips on his paws, a white belly that bulged somewhat, and a design around his neck that looked like white lightning bolts. The rest of the tiny body was blue and his eyes opened to show big, dark eyes. Natsu's smile threatened to split his face in two as he reached over and began rubbing the tips of his fingers against the silky-soft fur.

"Hey there little guy," Laxus said as he reached over and rubbed the tip of the kitten's ear. The kitten mewled and stretched his head for a second before it fell back to the ground. His neck wasn't too strong just yet.

"He's so tiny…" Natsu marveled.

"Well yea, he's a baby," Laxus said with a chuckle. Natsu giggled and then gasped as his eyes lit up brightly.

"I just thought of a name!" Laxus raised an eyebrow.

"What name?"

"Happy!"

"Happy huh?" Laxus said, trying out the name before moving his hand to tickle the kitten's belly.

"Because, you and I were both really scared all day, then you got angry and Mira and now he's hatched and made us happy!" Laxus chuckled.

"Alright. Happy Dragneel Dreyar it is." The tiny kitten mewled almost pathetically and began moving his arms and legs in an attempt to crawl.

"Aw…what's wrong Happy?" Natsu asked.

"Maybe he wants to be held?" Laxus suggested. Natsu nodded, picked up the hatchling and cradled him to his chest. Happy began rubbing his face into Natsu's chest and paused for a moment and sniffed at Natsu's nipple before taking it into his mouth and sucking on it.

"Oh! Whoa! Hang on!"

"Natsu!" Laxus moved and wrapped an arm around Natsu's shoulders and his other hand instinctively moved to hold Happy steady as Natsu fell back against his Mate.

"Happy, I'm a guy, nothing's going to come out even if you do that…" Gently, Natsu puled Happy away from his chest. The cat mewled again and Natsu felt something warm slip down his stomach. He looked down to see a pale white stream making its way down his ribs from his nipple.

"What in the-" Laxus began as he shifted Natsu to sit properly in his lap.

"Oh gosh." Laxus gently wiped at the liquid and pressed his finger to his tongue.

"It's milk," he said as he let Happy lick it off his fingers before Natsu set the hatchling back on his chest and the cat latched on again to feed.

"What the heck?" Natsu asked, leaning further into Laxus' arms.

"Does it hurt?" Laxus asked.

"Not really. Kinda weird but not anything really worth complaining about. Actually, it feels pretty good," Natsu said with a shrug.

"It feels good?"

"He doesn't have any teeth yet, so… Yea. You don't think I'm going to be leaking milk forever do you?" Laxus chuckled.

"No. I don't think so. You'll run out eventually, I think," Laxus assured, pressing his cheek to the top of Natsu's head.

"But it may cause a problem with my vest."

"Maybe to make sure no leaks happen in public, you should wear a proper shirt or something like that." Natsu nodded and began petting Happy's head as he fed.

* * *

Annie: If some readers are confused on what had just happened with the Natsu's body. Here's Just2protect's answer to that question. Take it away!

Just2protect: Thanks Annie. I'll be taking it from Justie's Biology of Fairy Tail Class to answer the readers question of "What the heck is happening to Natsu's body?" Now some people might be wondering: How the heck Natsu was able to produce milk despite not only being Happy's adopted mom but also a virgin, meaning his body should not have had been producing any milk for Baby Happy? Here's how it works: Every Dragon Slayer gains a special side effect when they become Slayers; they gain dragon-like behaviors and instincts. For Natsu, his instincts told his body that Happy's egg was his baby and the baby would need nutrition when it hatched. Thus, his body began creating milk for baby Happy. And the reason it felt good is because there's a chemical released during breastfeeding called Oxytocin that is also the cause of contractions during birth and contractions during orgasm. So despite Natsu's freaking out, chemically and instinctually speaking, this is all very normal. Personally, I think that's pretty cool.

Annie: WHOA! Shit, that means...?!

Just2protect: You don't mean...?!

Annie and Just2protect: NATSU IS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE RELATIONSHIP?! *Faints*

Laxus: Ja Ne. Now, I have to get them onto a couch. *Picks them up to get us onto a couch*


	10. Chapter 9 Part 2

Annie: Hey, everyone.

Just2protect: Short AN.

Annie: This chapter going to be split into two then the second book is going to be going out.

Both: Enjoy. ^-^

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"Happy! Get down from there!" Laxus called to the tiny blue kitten now crawling around on the rafters of the Guild. Ever since Happy had hatched and he could hold his own head up, he'd been climbing anything he could sink his claws into, which included the inside of the Guild Hall. Lisanna had gushed about Happy nonstop to her siblings for hours when she saw the adorable kitten come into the Guild. As it turned out, Lisanna had gone right home the day Happy hatched so Mira had been worrying for nothing. The she-devil had even come and apologized to Laxus, albeit reluctantly but still, it was a start. More than once, Freed had used his Wings runes to attempt to retrieve the little creature but Happy always managed to slip away and end up back in the rafters to scare the daylights out of Natsu and Laxus both. But right then and there, Freed was on a job and unavailable for Happy-Rafter-Retrieval duty. But thankfully, the Strauss siblings weren't there either so Laxus and Natsu could use Happy's full name without Lisanna there to correct them.

"Happy, you're gonna hurt yourself if you keep doing that!" Natsu called. Happy leaned to peer down at his parents over the edge of the beam and Natsu gasped, hoping that his precious hatchling wouldn't fall. He let out a cute mewl noise before continuing on his way along the beam.

"Gramps, can you get him down?" Laxus asked, turning to his grandfather as the man walked up. The elder looked up at the tiny blue kitten in the rafters.

"The little guy is just exploring," he said.

"But he could fall!" Natsu said, glancing at the Master before turning his attention to Happy as the kitten became interested in a spider hanging off the rafter and was pawing at it playfully. Natsu bit on his lip.

"If that happens, we'll catch him. Or he'll land on his feet like every other cat," Makarov said plainly as he took a seat at the bar.

"Happy came out of an egg Gramps! He's not like every other cat!" Natsu called. Happy mewled happily at his new game as he reached down with his other paw.

"Hatched from an egg or birthed like another cat, Happy does need to learn to care for himself," Makarov said as he took a drink of a beer. Laxus snarled under his breath. Happy was still just a baby, not only that, his and Natsu's baby, even if Lisanna constantly insisted on Natsu letting her play as Happy's mommy. But so far, every time she'd tried holding Happy, the little kitten would hiss and sink his claws into her arm or bite her hand before running to hide behind Natsu or climb into the rafters again.

"Happy!" Natsu cried, panicked. Laxus looked up and gasped. Happy was dangling from the rafter, claws barely able to hold his weight as he kicked, trying to get a foothold in midair. He mewled, terrified.

"Gramps!" Laxus called. The old man looked up and then back at his grandson.

"He'll be alright. Aside from that, you and Natsu have told him not to go up into the rafters. His'll prove to be a good lesson for him to learn." Happy mewled again as his claws barely held onto the bottom of the rafter.

"Mama!" Natsu's eyes widened as the kitten continued to yell his new word.

"Dada!" Laxus' fists clenched until his lightning was arcing around his body and his arms were shaking. Happy's claws slipped from the wood and the kitten screamed as he began to fall. The next thing Laxus knew, he was holding the crying kitten in his arms…at least thirty feet off the ground. He hovered for a moment before the teen found himself slowly coming down to the ground. Natsu was staring wide-eyed at him as the blonde knelt in front of him. Happy crawled into Natsu's arms and cuddled into the boy's neck.

"Mama…Mama…" the kitten mewled. Natsu pet Happy's back, trying to calm him down, but was still staring at Laxus in awe.

"How did you do that?"

"It's called Lightning Body," Makarov said. The boys snapped around to the old man.

"What do you mean by that?" Laxus asked.

"It's a special technique that Lightning Dragon Slayers were able to develop centuries ago. But the as the Dragon Slayer Magic is so rare, it's almost impossible to know how to teach it. However, Atlas informed me that many Dragon Slayers, like actual Dragons, will be able to access a higher level of magic power when one they consider family is in danger. Take now for example. Happy was in danger of being hurt, but you were able to access Lightning Body to fly up and catch him," Makarov said plainly.

"So, that's why you weren't worried about Happy being hurt?" Natsu asked. Makarov nodded.

"Don't misunderstand Natsu, I care about Happy too. He's a member of our family, just as much as Laaxus or yourself. Had Laxus not been able to start using Lightning Body, I would've caught him. But remember, here we're supposed to grow in our magic and encourage each other to grow. If we don't push each other, then our magic will never progress. And if you and Laxus are going to beat the Ten Wizard Saints, you two need to be encouraged and pushed beyond what you think you can handle. Understand?" Laxus smiled and nodded before wrapping his arms around Natsu and looking down at Happy with a smile.

"Honestly Happy, you can't be going up into the rafters anymore. You really scared me," Natsu scolded. Happy nuzzled into his Mama's shoulder then began squirming around to his chest. Laxus picked up his tiny little family and smirked.

"We're headed out for a bit! Don't wait up for us!" Laxus called as he walked out of the Guild Hall. They hadn't told anyone that Happy was breastfeeding from Natsu, but whenever the little kitten would get hungry and Lisanna was around, they made sure that she wouldn't want to go with them and as a result, had to find the perfect activity to disgust her enough to keep her away; fishing. Apparently, she didn't like the idea of hunting as she could turn into animals. It may have seemed underhanded, but it was the only way they could think of to get the white-haired girl to stay away from them when Happy needed to eat. Natsu did like being friends with the girl, if anything, and only heaven knew how she'd react to seeing Natsu breastfeeding. Plus, it was a good excuse to leave the Guild and for Laxus to catch some extra food to keep in the tree-house. Once they got to their usual fishing spot, Laxus pulled a fishing pole he'd made from the hollow interior of a tree as Natsu pulled off his shirt and let Happy start feeding.

"You good over there bud?" Laxus asked as he sat down and cast into the lake. Natsu hummed as he nodded and Happy guzzled away. Once Happy was finished, he and Natsu curled up against Laxus and started napping. The blonde teen reached down with a hand and teasingly, but gently, tugged on Natsu's hair and then proceeded to rub Happy's tummy. The kitten purred at the motion and stretched some. Laxus chuckled some.

"Natsu?! Natsu, where are you?!" The blonde stiffened and jerked around, the sudden movement waking Natsu.

"What's going on?" he groaned as he sat up and rubbed his eye.

"Natsu?!" The pink-haired boy sat up straight and groaned when he realized the voice was too close for them to run off.

"Get ready," Laxus said as he turned to Happy. As bad as he felt, waking up the kitten, he needed to understand that a situation was coming where he couldn't call Laxus "Dada" or Natsu "Mama". The kitten mewled as he woke up and looked up at his father with wide, curious eyes.

"Dada," he said as he rubbed an eye.

"Not now Happy. Listen, you cannot talk for right now. No talking. Shhhh. Okay?" Happy nodded. He may have only just started talking but he had shown that he understood when he was told to do or not do something. Within moments, Lisanna appeared around a tree.

"Oh…Laxus is here too…" she said. Laxus and Natsu could hear her disappointment but said nothing.

"Yea…We were fishing," Natsu said. Lisanna nodded.

"Well…I was in the East Forest with my siblings and I found the biggest footprints ever!" Natsu tilted his head to the side.

"And…?"

"You said that dragon of yours is big right? What if these are his?" Natsu's eyes went wide. Laxus almost snarled. Any mention of Igneel, be it a real or false lead, and Natsu went off.

"Where are they?" Natsu asked.

"I'll show you," Lisanna said, extending her hand for Natsu's as the pink-haired boy stood up and scooped up Happy.

"I'll come too. The East Forest is full of monsters so you two will need help," Laxus said as he put the fishing pole away and stood up, brushing any grass off his pants.

"Oh, thank you Laxus, but Natsu and I can-"

"We'll all go," Laxus said firmly. Lisanna pouted, disappointed her plans to be alone with Natsu were being interfered with again.

Four hours Later...(Where they are, it would be a long walk to East Forest)

"Daddy," Happy said as he landed on Laxus' shoulder.

"Yea buddy?"

"Mama?" Laxus raised an eyebrow.

"He's right behind us, right?" the blonde asked as he turned around, only to find Lisanna, also looking into the fog for the pink-haired boy.

"Laxus! Natsu just disappeared!" Lisanna cried.

"I know! I'll go look for him. You go back to the Guild and get some help," Laxus ordered as he moved past her.

"No! I wanna help Natsu!" Laxus whirled around, lightning flashing in his eyes, turning them a golden color for a second.

"Do as I say Lisanna! This is not the time to argue! If I have to fight something, I can't keep an eye on you, the monster and Natsu at the same time! Now go!" Laxus ran off before Lisanna could object again. He started calling out to the boy when the fog began getting far too thick. Laxus' search came to an abrupt halt when he tripped over a tree root and went sprawling into the dirt.

"Dada!" Happy said as he licked at the teen's cheek.

"I'm okay Happy. Don't worry. But I'm really starting to get worried now. I can't get a scent."

"Laxus!" Natsu screamed. Laxus snapped around as the fog began to clear, revealing a massive ape-like creature with green fur. Happy let out a squeak of fright and hid a little more behind his father. Laxus stood up and glared at the beast.

"Well, well. Looks like another stupid Fairy came to challenge me. You wouldn't happen to be lookin' for this, would ya?" The beast asked as he held up a massive fist, held in the thick fingers was Natsu.

"Mama!" Happy cried. Laxus reached back, pulled Happy off and set him on the ground with a push to the back, signaling to him to go hide. Happy whimpered as he stood there, looking between his father and the beast holding his mother.

"Put Natsu down, right now you dirty Vulcan!" Laxus ordered, baring his teeth.

"Apparently you don't know how things work in the forest, do ya kid? Finders keepers, losers weepers."

"He's not some possession that you can keep! Now put him down!" Laxus snapped, electricity coming to life on his knuckles.

"You're disrespecting me kid. Just for that I'm gonna keep her. It just so happens I've been looking for a wife." Natsu gasped, eyes going wide as he snapped his head around. Just like Natsu, Laxus was wide eyed as the Vulcan had just called Natsu a SHE, but Laxus didn't like it that the VULCAN was holding his mate in his hands. Laxus was getting angrier by the second and he doesn't want to hurt his son or mate with his lighting.

"Look here, you Vulcan! Natsu is a Dragon Slayer and is MY MATE and the MOTHER to our SON, SO LET HIM GO!" Laxus shouted at the Vulcan who looked at Natsu who nodded his head. The Vulcan shakes his head and looks at Laxus.

"No, she's mine!"

"Look here Brainless, Natsu is mine and I won't let you have him!" The Vulcan glares at him.

"Mama!" The sharp cry brought the attention of all three to the tiny blue kitten who was looking up at his mother with big, teary eyes. The Vulcan saw that the Human Male was right, but he wants her to himself so he would kill both the human male and their son so he can have the pink-haired 'female' to himself. He kicked Laxus in the stomach sending him into a tree and Laxus could get up from that kicked before looking up at the Vulcan and just when the Vulcan was about to punch Happy. Laxus shoved Happy out of the way and looked up just in time to see the creature's foot come down on him. His arm collapsed under him with a SNAP and Laxus roared in pain.

"No! Laxus!" Natsu yelled.

"You just fell for the oldest trick in the book!" the Vulcan sneered, twisting his foot to push Laxus deeper into the dirt. Another SNAP from the teen's leg rang out in the air and Laxus bit back the noise of pain as it worked its way up his throat.

"Leave him alone you ape!" Natsu yelled as he bit into the Vulcan's finger. The ape yowled in pain and released the boy. Natsu raced to Laxus and rolled the teen over as gently as he could. Laxus grit his teeth.

"Get ready to get crushed like the little pests you are!" the Vulcan roared as he picked up a giant boulder and held it over his head. Laxus threw his good arm around Natsu and rolled so Natsu was tucked under him. The two waited for the pain of a massive rock crushing them to death…but it never came.

"You really are a nasty, stupid monkey, aren't ya?" Laxus looked over his shoulder and smirked. Natsu looked and saw a person covered in shadows standing between them and the boulder.

"You really are a nasty, stupid monkey, aren't ya?" It was a male voice and Happy could see it was a man with red hair and a cape like coat that was on his shoulders and has a bag on his right shoulder with the stings in his right hand as his other hand is holding the boulder back from hitting him.

"You're..." Natsu breathed well Laxus smirks as he knows who that is.

"Who're you calling names you runt?" the Vulcan asked.

"I'll just get this out of the way." Suddenly, the boulder burst into thousands of tiny, harmless cubes.

"Whoa…" Natsu breathed.

"Now, here's how this is gonna play out. You're gonna leave the kids alone, turn around and walk away," Gildarts said in a tone that refused any argument.

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Annie: Who's the guy that saved them? You would have to wait util the next chapter.

Just2protect: Can't wait to get the next chapter finished.

Both: Ja Ne. ^-^


End file.
